TREASURY

Business: Government Assistance

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2011, Official Report, column 976W, on business: Government assistance, what progress he has made on funding the Business Finance Partnership; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: As set out in my previous answer, the Government announced at the autumn statement that they will make available an initial £1 billion to invest through non-bank lending channels, through a Business Finance Partnership. This will focus initially on co-investment in loan funds that lend directly to mid-sized businesses in the UK.
	My previous answer also indicated that the Government would request proposals to manage these funds in early 2012. This request for proposals was issued on 30 January 2012, and is available on the HM Treasury website. This request will close on 20 February, and the Government intend to announce the funds with which it intends to invest in spring 2012.
	The Government also intend to request further tranches of proposals in due course.

Business: Loans

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of total loans to small businesses that will have lower interest rates as a result of credit easing.

Mark Hoban: The National Loan Guarantee Scheme will provide up to £20 billion of guarantees to banks to raise funds to lend to smaller businesses at a lower cost.

Co-operatives

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the Law Commission to begin work on a Co-operative Consolidation Bill; how long he estimates it will take to complete its work; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: Government legislation will be announced in due course in the normal manner.

Devolution: Finance

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 25 November 2011, Official Report, columns 42-4WS, on Youth Contract, what Barnett consequentials will be provided for (a) Wales, (b) Scotland and (c) Northern Ireland in connection with the Youth Contract;
	(2)  with reference to the autumn statement, which measures generated a Barnett consequential; and what the size of the consequential was in each case for each devolved Administration.

Danny Alexander: The following table gives details of the Barnett consequentials within departmental expenditure limits arising from the Chancellor's autumn statement on 29 November 2011, Official Report, columns 799-810:
	
		
			 £ million 
			   2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 National Infrastructure Plan Scotland 7.4 43.2 69.8 
			  Wales 3.6 24.2 37.5 
			  Northern Ireland 2.5 14.5 23.4 
			      
			 Youth Contract Scotland 8.1 6.9 6.9 
			  Wales 4.7 4.0 4.0 
			  Northern Ireland 10.3 8.7 7.5 
			      
			 Regional Growth Fund Scotland 6.0 33.6 60.4 
			  Wales 3.5 19.4 34.8 
			  Northern Ireland 2.0 11.3 20.3 
			      
			 Green Deal Incentives Scotland 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			  Wales 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			  Northern Ireland 0.9 4.9 0.0 
			      
			 Education capital Scotland 29.0 47.5 43.5 
			  Wales 16.7 27.4 25.1 
			  Northern Ireland 9.7 15.9 14.6 
			      
			      
			 Housing capital Scotland 26.0 17.6 -1.4 
			  Wales 15.0 10.1 -0.8 
			  Northern Ireland 8.7 5.9 -0.5 
			      
			 Early years childcare Scotland 7.1 20.1 38.2 
			  Wales 4.1 11.6 22.0 
			  Northern Ireland 2.4 6.8 12.8 
			      
			 Rail fares Scotland 8.7 9.0 11.3 
			  Wales 5.0 5.2 6.5 
			  Northern Ireland 2.9 3.0 3.8 
			      
			 Pay Restraint Scotland -4.4 -22.6 -38.1 
			  Wales -1.8 -18.9 -34.8 
			  Northern Ireland    
			      
			 Business Rates Scotland 24.8 -4.2 :3.4 
			  Wales 14.3 -2.4 -1.9 
			  Northern Ireland 8.3 -1.4 -1.1

Devolution: Finance

Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much Barnett consequential funding will be available to each devolved administration for payment of enhanced capital allowances in enterprise zones in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Danny Alexander: Discussions between the UK Government and the devolved Administrations over the allocation of funding for enhanced capital allowances in enterprise zones are continuing.

Executives: Pay

Peter Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on setting the level of directors’ emoluments in companies in which the Government has a significant shareholding.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 2 February 2012
	The Government have two aims in setting remuneration levels for state-owned enterprises. It needs to ensure that these organisations are effectively managed, and consequently accepts that there may be prevailing market rates to recruit and retain suitably-qualified management. At the same time, the Government exercise considerable pay restraint. To ensure accountability in this matter, I sign-off any appointments for those earning over £142,500 in areas under ministerial control.
	The Government’s shareholdings in the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group are managed on a commercial and arm’s length basis by UK Financial Investments (UKFI), a company which is wholly-owned by the Government. UKFI engages as shareholder to ensure incentives are based on long-term, sustainable performance, and will seek to ensure that neither bank pays any more than the minimum necessary. However, the Government are determined that the taxpayers’ investment in the banking system is recovered and therefore RBS and LBG must be able to attract and retain staff in order to protect and create value for the taxpayer.
	The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has recently announced proposals aimed at improving the alignment of risk and reward in executive pay. These proposals include the expectation that in the future, remuneration committees will have to explain why they have used specific benchmarks and how they have taken into account employee earnings, including pay differentials, when setting pay.

Food: Additives

Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what fiscal incentives his Department is considering to encourage food manufacturers to reduce the amount of salt, saturated fat and artificial ingredients in food products.

Chloe Smith: Decisions on tax policy are a matter for the Chancellor as part of the Budget process. At present, the Government have no plans to introduce an additional tax on salt, saturated fat and artificial ingredients in food.

Public Sector: Pensions

Richard Fuller: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider introducing a similar scheme to the Future Fund established in Australia.

Danny Alexander: Lord Hutton and the Independent Public Service Pension Commission considered whether unfunded public service pension liabilities should become funded. Their Interim report sets out the arguments but concludes that
	“it remains reasonable to continue to operate arrangements without actual funds as the basic financing model, given the risks, lack of obvious economic benefit and transition costs of moving to a fully funded model. Equally, there is no reason to de-fund existing funded schemes.”
	The Government accepted Lord Hutton’s recommendations as a basis for consultation with trade unions at Budget 2011.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

London Olympic 2012

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Leader of the House how many invitations to attend events at the London 2012 Olympics (a) he, (b) other Ministers in his office and (c) senior officials in his office have accepted; and if he will make a statement.

George Young: None.
	Details of hospitality received by Ministers and special advisers and the most senior officials are published on a quarterly basis and will be available for July to September 2012 in due course.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Broadband

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps Broadband Delivery UK is taking to ensure the competitive supply to local authorities of superfast broadband networks.

Edward Vaizey: Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) has advised local authorities that all procurements involving public funding must be consistent with European procurement guidelines, which includes requirement for competitive process and wholesale access. BDUK has also advised of the importance of potential suppliers being able to deliver sustainable projects.

Broadband

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps Broadband Delivery UK is taking to ensure that the superfast broadband networks supplied to local authorities operate to international interface standards.

Edward Vaizey: Broadband Delivery UK requires that all the companies participating in the framework provide solutions that are compliant with, match or better the appropriate standards specified by NICC, the UK Interoperability Standards group.

Departmental Billing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many and what proportion of his Department’s invoices from its private sector suppliers were paid (a) within 14 days, (b) between 15 and 30 days, (c) between 31 and 60 days, (d) between 61 and 90 days and (e) more than 90 days after receipt in the last 12 months.

John Penrose: There is a statutory requirement to pay all valid invoices within 30 calendar days. In addition, from November 2008, the Government introduced a requirement for all Departments to pay private sector supplier invoices within 10 working days of receipt. In May 2010, the requirement was changed to 80% within five working days of receipt.
	A report of this Department’s performance against these targets is published on our website each month and can be found at:
	http://www.transparency.culture.gov.uk/category/financial/prompt-payment/
	We do not record data against other target dates.

Departmental Food

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what proportion of food purchased by his Department was produced in the UK in each of the last five years.

John Penrose: The Department does not have its own food and catering service, following the closure of the staff canteen in December 2009. Prior to this, the proportion of food purchased by the Department that was of British origin increased from 44% in 2005 to 52% in 2006. In 2008-09, meats were 95%-100% British origin, vegetables 80%-90% and fruits 70%-75%.

Departmental Training

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many away days his Department has held since May 2010; what the location was of each such away day; how many staff attended; and what the cost was of each such event.

John Penrose: Within the Department, away days are arranged by individual teams and details are not centrally recorded. The Department’s accounting system does not record expenditure on away days separately from other staff training and developmental costs, and to obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost.

Digital Economy Act 2010

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what plans he has to implement sections nine to 17 of the Digital Economy Act 2010.

Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has no plans to impose technical obligations on internet service providers under section 10 of the Digital Economy Act at this time. The Secretary of State is currently working towards commencement of the initial obligations set out in sections 3 and 4 of the Digital Economy Act. The power to impose technical obligations to take technical measures against subscribers set out in section 10 is a reserve power that cannot be exercised until such time as the Initial Obligations Code has been in force for 12 months, and evidence of its effect has been reviewed. Furthermore, before considering whether to impose technical obligations, the Secretary of State will seek an assessment from Ofcom of the likely efficacy of technical measures.
	As announced in August 2011, site blocking regulations under sections 17 and 18 will not be brought forward at this time. This decision was reached following advice from Ofcom, also published in August 2011.

Mobile Phones

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the benefits to consumers of the proposal made by the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications to fix retail costs for mobile data roaming in the European Union at three times wholesale costs.

Edward Vaizey: The Department is considering various proposals put forward on price caps for retail costs for mobile data roaming in the European Union. These include the initial Commission proposals; revised proposals from the European Parliament and advice submitted by the European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC).
	The principles that guide our negotiating position on both the wholesale and the retail price capping (and thus the margin between the two) for voice and data roaming, remain that we wish to see price caps set at values that will continue to reduce roaming costs for consumers but at the same time provide sufficient incentive for new players to enter the market, therefore providing a sustainable competitive market place.

Olympic Games 2012

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport on what date his Department was first made aware of Dow Chemicals' interest in sponsoring the stadium wrap for the London 2012 Olympics.

Hugh Robertson: Contracting for services and supply of goods to the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) is a matter for LOCOG, a private company operating independent of Government. On 7 February 2011, LOCOG publicly sought expressions of interest from the private sector to supply the wrap, published on the CompeteFor London 2012 business opportunities website, with a deadline of 18 February 2011.
	Following this procurement process, LOCOG informed us they were in the final stages of contract negotiation with Dow Chemicals, on 25 May 2011. The conclusion of these discussions between LOCOG and their suppliers was announced on 4 August 2011, publically naming Dow as the Olympic Wrap supplier.
	The stadium wrap had been removed from the Public Sector Funding Package for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games as part of the 2010 spending review.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Poultry: Animal Welfare

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to penalise egg producers who have not complied with the required transfer of hens to larger battery cages from 1 January 2012.

James Paice: Robust enforcement action is being taken under the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 and its equivalents in the devolved Administrations, which implement the laying hen directive 1999/74/EC and failure to comply may result in a criminal conviction.
	As of 6 February 2012 all producers in England, Scotland and Wales are compliant with the conventional cage ban and the three remaining sites in Northern Ireland are expected to be compliant by 13 February 2012.

WALES

Olympic Games 2012

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many invitations to attend events at the London 2012 Olympics (a) she, (b) other Ministers in her Department and (c) senior officials in her Department have accepted; and if she will make a statement.

David Jones: Details of hospitality received by Ministers, special advisers and the most senior officials are published on a quarterly basis and will be available for July to September 2012 in due course.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Recruitment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department has spent on (a) recruitment services and (b) executive search agencies in each month since May 2010; and if he will make a statement.

David Mundell: Since May 2010 the only expenditure incurred by the Scotland Office on recruitment services was £1,125 in May 2011. No expenditure was incurred on executive search agencies.

Departmental Training

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many away days his Department has held since May 2010; what the location was of each such away day; how many staff attended; and what the cost was of each such event.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has held no away days since May 2010.

Nuclear Weapons

Michael Ellis: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the First Minister of Scotland on the future of the nuclear deterrent.

David Mundell: No discussions have been held with the First Minister on the future of the nuclear deterrent.

TRANSPORT

Active Travel Strategy

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent progress has been made by her Department with the Department of Health on the development of an active travel strategy.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport and the Department of Health have set out their support for active travel and its benefits in the “Creating Growth, Cutting Carbon” and “Healthy Lives, Healthy People” White Papers in 2011 and 2010 respectively. The Departments continue to work together to promote and support active travel.

Cycleways

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what recent assessment she has made of the cycle lane network across the UK;
	(2)  what plans she has to encourage the creation of new cycle lanes in urban areas.

Norman Baker: 98% of roads are managed and maintained by local highway authorities and it is their responsibility to consider and implement the appropriate cycle facilities for their area. We encourage local authorities to consider the needs of all road users. However, funding is generally not ring fenced as the coalition Government believe that local authorities, and not Whitehall, are best placed to determine the right solutions for individual areas. We therefore have made no assessment of the provision of cycle lanes across the UK.
	The Department has created a new £560 million Local Sustainable Transport Fund to support packages of sustainable transport measures which support economic growth and help to reduce carbon emissions. Local authorities are expected to work in partnership with their communities to identify the right solutions to meet the economic and environmental challenges faced in their areas.
	To date, £155 million has been awarded to 39 projects, many of which include new cycle lanes, supported by complementary measures such as cycle training, facilities and promotional activities. I intend to announce the successful bidders for the remaining funding by this summer.

Immobilisation of Vehicles

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what steps she (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to restrict the use of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency vehicle database by rogue private sector wheel clampers; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the use of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency vehicle database by rogue private sector wheel clampers; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: Companies using wheel clamping to impose parking restrictions on private land rarely seek vehicle keeper information. The vehicle usually remains immobilised until the user satisfies the conditions for its release such as payment of a fee. These companies tend to request vehicle keeper information only in limited circumstances, for example where a vehicle has not been claimed, where damage has been done to the company's property or when the vehicle may have been abandoned.
	Vehicle keeper information is disclosed only where it is fair and lawful. The law allows for the release of vehicle keeper information to those who can demonstrate reasonable cause for requiring it. A range of safeguards are in place to ensure that information is only provided to those with a legitimate right to receive it. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency requires wheel clampers to meet the same criteria as any other organisation. There are no plans to change the current arrangements.
	Private sector wheel clamping will be outlawed with the successful passage into law of the Protection of Freedoms Bill.

Local Sustainable Transport Fund

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how she plans to assess the performance of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund; and how she plans to assess the distribution of funds.

Norman Baker: The Department will continue to work with local authorities to monitor and evaluate implementation of Local Sustainable Transport Fund projects. The detailed evaluation framework is currently under development and will be published after decisions on large and Tranche Two projects are announced, which will be in the summer.
	Funds are awarded to bidding authorities following a competitive process in which bids are assessed according to published criteria, principally economic growth and carbon reduction. Social distributional impacts are part of the bidding criteria for large projects but geographical distribution does not feature as part of these criteria.

Metals: Theft

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the oral answer to the hon. Member for Redditch of 12 January 2012, Official Report, column 316, on metal theft, how many incidents there have been of metal theft from railway lines in the Vale of Glamorgan in each of the last three years; and what the value was of the metal stolen.

Norman Baker: In the Wales route, in which the Vale of Glamorgan lies, there have been 84 incidents of metal theft in 2010-11 and 46 in 2011-12 (up till 7 January 2012). The Department does not have information on the value of the stolen metal itself.

Network Rail: Compensation

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much compensation was paid to each train operating company by Network Rail for delays and cancellations attributed to Network Rail in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Norman Baker: The information requested is not held by the Department. It is held by Network Rail. The compensation regime is a contractual element within the Track Access Agreement between Network Rail and each operator, and is overseen by the Office for Rail Regulation.

Network Rail: Compensation

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much compensation was paid to passengers by each train operating company as a result of delays and cancellations attributed to Network Rail in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Norman Baker: The information requested is not held by the Department. The Department only holds information on compensation payments to passengers for those train operating companies which operate the Delay/Repay compensation system. Such compensation payments are made regardless of whether the delay was attributed to Network Rail, or a train operator, so it is not possible to identify how much compensation is attributable to each.

Ports: Milford Haven

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions she has had on the inclusion of Milford Haven as a core port in the Connecting Europe Facility.

Michael Penning: Ministers from the Department for Transport have not had any discussions regarding the inclusion of Milford Haven as a core port in the European Commission's proposal for a Connecting Europe Facility.

Public Transport: Schools

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of children (a) cycle, (b) walk, (c) take public transport and (d) are driven in a private car to school in England in each local authority.

Norman Baker: Data at a regional level are available from the Department's National Travel Survey. The latest figures are on the Department's website at:
	http://assets.dft.gov.uk/statistics/tables/nts9908.xls
	The Department for Education has published school level information on mode of travel to school for 2010-11. The data identify the local authority area within which each school lies. This information is contained within the Department for Education report ‘Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2011’ which is available for download at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00196810/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2

Public Transport: Violence

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many violent incidents were reported on London's (a) trains and (b) buses in (i) each of the last five years and (ii) each month since April 2011; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Penning: The Department for Transport does not hold the information requested.
	Information on London buses is a matter for Transport for London (TfL) which publishes quarterly statistical bulletins on crime on public transport in London at:
	http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/19385.aspx
	For more information on this report, please contact TfL at:
	csepcommunications@tfl.gov.uk
	Information on rail incidents is held by individual train operating companies (TOC's) or the British Transport police. The BTP can be contacted at:
	British Transport Police
	25 Camden Road
	London NW1 9LN
	E-mail:
	parliament@btp.pnn.police.uk

Railways: South West

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultation took place between her Department and Passenger Focus before the recent changes to railway ticket validity on the route from Bristol to Hereford via Bromsgrove were approved.

Norman Baker: The Association of Train Operating companies notified the Department for Transport and Passenger Focus of several changes to the National Routeing Guide on 9 December 2011. Passenger Focus replied to ATOC and DfT on 15 December 2011 indicating that it was satisfied with those proposals relating to routes via Bromsgrove.

Speed Limits

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she plans to provide a toolkit to help local authorities assess the economic benefits of 20mph schemes; and whether the toolkit will (a) take into account compliance levels in community-wide Total 20 schemes and (b) monetise the health benefits of lower speeds.

Norman Baker: The Strategic Framework for Road Safety, published last year, indicated that the Department for Transport will provide an economic tool to help local authorities assess the full costs and benefits of proposed speed limit schemes. Work has already started and I hope to publish a completed tool later this year.
	The tool will be based on the available evidence. The intention is to take account of varying levels of compliance with speed limits. Where there is sufficient evidence and it is part of Government's established approach to appraisal, effects would be expressed in monetary terms. In respect of health effects these may include road safety, air quality and the use of healthier ways of travelling.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Air Passenger Duty

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the consequences of reducing air passenger duty for flights departing from Northern Ireland.

Owen Paterson: The Government's decision to reduce air passenger duty on all direct long haul flights from Northern Ireland airports will help to support the retention and development of long-haul routes to and from Northern Ireland and the Belfast International to Newark route in particular.

Banks: Loans

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with banks on increasing levels of lending to small and medium-sized businesses in Northern Ireland.

Owen Paterson: I have discussed these matters with ministerial colleagues in the Treasury and the Northern Ireland Executive. Any discussions with banks are primarily for those Ministers to take forward. The hon. Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson), in his role as Minister for Finance and Personnel in the Northern Ireland Executive, chairs the Banking Finance and Lending subgroup of the Cross Sector Advisory Forum.

Diamond Jubilee 2012

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he and his Department have to mark Her Majesty's jubilee in Northern Ireland.

Owen Paterson: I look forward to welcoming Her Majesty to Northern Ireland as part of the national celebrations later in the year. Further details will be announced in due course. We believe that people in Northern Ireland will wish to celebrate the diamond jubilee, for example through holding street parties, tree planting and attending the many beacons that will be lit. Both the Government and the Royal Household, however, are keen to ensure that the celebrations reflect the current economic climate and are funded from within existing budgets. There are therefore no plans for Whitehall Departments to incur additional expenditure in order to mark the jubilee.

Electricity: Prices

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of levels of electricity prices in Northern Ireland compared with those in England, Scotland and Wales.

Owen Paterson: Responsibility for energy policy, the strategic energy framework for Northern Ireland and consumer affairs are all devolved matters for which I have no responsibility. The price of electricity is a commercial matter and the Northern Ireland Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment advised the Assembly on 26 September 2011 that the Executive does not have the power to determine the prices charged by private power companies.
	Any increase in electricity tariffs in Northern Ireland is scrutinised and approved by the utility regulator, who has the responsibility for regulating Northern Ireland tariffs.

Enterprise Zones

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in the introduction of enterprise zones in Northern Ireland.

Owen Paterson: The Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), announced plans in the Budget to establish 21 new enterprise zones across England, but it is for Northern Ireland Ministers to determine how the introduction of aspects of enterprise zones policy might be applied in Northern Ireland.
	The Ministerial Working Group on Rebalancing the Northern Ireland Economy is considering this matter, alongside a range of other policies aimed at promoting jobs and economic growth in Northern Ireland.

Fuels: Prices

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the cost of fuel in Northern Ireland.

Owen Paterson: I have regular meetings with ministerial colleagues on a range of economic issues affecting Northern Ireland including the cost of fuel.
	The Government are well aware of the burden that high fuel prices place on the average family, and on business. That is why the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), announced in the autumn statement that the 3.02p per litre fuel duty increase that was due to take effect on 1 January 2012 will be deferred to 1 August 2012, and the inflation increase that was planned for 1 August 2012, which was expected to cost 1.92p per litre, will be cancelled. This will mean that there will only be one RPI increase in 2012. This is on top of the support that was announced at Budget 2011 that included a 1p per litre cut in fuel duty; and the introduction of a fair fuel stabiliser to replace the previous Government's fuel duty escalator.
	Under the stabiliser, fuel duty across the UK will increase by inflation only, when oil prices are high. If the oil price falls below a set trigger price on a sustained basis duty will increase by RPI plus 1p per litre. The Government are informally consulting before setting the level and mechanism for the trigger.

Motor Vehicles: Licences

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has for the devolution of vehicle licensing and vehicle taxation powers.

Owen Paterson: The Government have no such plans at present.

Olympic Games 2012

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many invitations to attend events at the London 2012 Olympics (a) he, (b) other Ministers in his Department and (c) senior officials in his Department have accepted; and if he will make a statement.

Owen Paterson: None.

Police: Army

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many times army personnel were called out in support of Police Service of Northern Ireland security operations in each year from 2009 to 2011.

Owen Paterson: The Northern Ireland Office has a role in agreeing Military Aid to the Civil Power (MACP) requests.
	Available figures for MACP requests for the years in question are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of requests received/approved 
			 2009 24 
			 2010 22 
			 2011 20

Terrorism

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his assessment is of the present level of dissident IRA threat in Northern Ireland.

Owen Paterson: The threat level in Northern Ireland remains at ‘Severe’, meaning that a terrorist attack is highly likely.
	Despite overwhelming community rejection of their murderous activity, terrorist groups continue to carry out attacks.
	Combating terrorism in all its forms remains a top priority for this Government and we continue to work closely with our strategic partners in the PSNI, Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Government to counter this threat.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Departmental Billing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many and what proportion of his Department's invoices from its private sector suppliers were paid (a) within 14 days, (b) between 15 and 30 days, (c) between 31 and 60 days, (d) between 61 and 90 days and (e) more than 90 days after receipt in the last 12 months.

David Lidington: In the period 1 February 2011 to 1 February 2012, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office paid 98.9% of invoices from its private sector suppliers within 90 days. 92.5% of these were paid within 14 days. The specific breakdown of all invoices as requested can be seen in the following table.
	
		
			 Invoice paid Total number of invoices paid Percentage 
			 (a) Within 14 19,776 92.54 
			 (b) 15 to 30 825 3.86 
			 (c) 31 to 60 450 2.11 
			 (d) 61 to 90 78 0.36 
			 (e) Over 90 242 1.13 
			 Grand total 21,371 100.00

Departmental Career Development

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what account promotion boards in his Department take of language and area expertise when assessing staff for promotion.

Henry Bellingham: As part of our Diplomatic Excellence initiative, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) attaches great importance to improving area expertise and language skills.
	The FCO promotion competitions test candidates in skills required for all FCO roles, such as strategic thinking, analytical skills, negotiating, influencing and written communication. We have considered including language skills as part of our promotions process. However, the promotion competitions cover all UK-based staff, including diplomatic staff, home civil servants, generalists and specialists. They are designed to determine whether staff are fitted to perform a wide range of jobs at the next level up. We have therefore concluded that it would be wrong to make specific language skills a formal requirement for all staff at promotion competitions.
	Nevertheless, in individual career planning and at the point of applying for specific roles, relevant language skills and area expertise are important considerations. When jobs are advertised, great emphasis is placed on the key competences, languages and other skills to ensure that we are able to appoint the staff best suited to fill each role.

Embassies: Civil Partnerships

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to take steps to increase the number of British embassies authorised to perform civil partnership registrations.

Jeremy Browne: Under the Civil Partnership Act 2004, our posts overseas are only authorised to perform civil partnership registrations:
	(a) where the local authorities of the country or territory in which they propose to register as civil partners do not object to the registration; and
	(b) insufficient facilities exist for them to enter into an overseas relationship under the law of that country or territory.
	The British Government already registers civil partnerships in our posts where these conditions are met. However, without the consent of the local authorities, we cannot increase the number of our posts where civil partnership registrations can take place.

India: European Fighter Aircraft

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions officials in his Department have had with representatives of the Indian Government on the Eurofighter.

Alistair Burt: The promotion of British commerce and international trade is a core UK foreign policy objective. UK Government Ministers and the British high commission in New Delhi have for several years been strongly promoting Typhoon at every suitable opportunity with representatives of the Indian Government, in close co-ordination with the UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation, and with our Eurofighter partners.

Iran: Sanctions

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the time period within which Iran could develop a nuclear capability under present circumstances.

Alistair Burt: Iran already has certain capabilities in the nuclear field, most notably the capability to enrich uranium. As the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) most recent report on the Iranian nuclear programme makes clear, Iran has conducted activities relevant, and in some cases specific, to the development of nuclear weapons. Iran continues to expand its stockpile of near-20% enriched uranium. Its continuing production of this material—in defiance of United Nations Security Council Resolutions—brings it closer to the day when it will have sufficient stocks to further enrich this material to weapons-grade and produce a nuclear device, should it so choose. This causes us grave concern about the ultimate purpose of the Iranian nuclear programme.
	The example of the Qom uranium enrichment facility, which Iran initially kept secret from the IAEA, also raises our concerns that there may also be other, undeclared sites in Iran that could be engaged in work designed to shorten this timeline further. This is why it is important for Iran to allow the IAEA the access it requires to address the international community's concerns on these and other issues, as the UN Security Council has instructed it to do.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of withdrawal from the Abyei area by (a) Sudanese armed forces personnel and (b) Sudanese People’s Liberation Army personnel since 1 January 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Henry Bellingham: The UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) has confirmed that the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan are both maintaining security forces within the Abyei area boundary.
	We welcome the meeting of the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee on 18 and 19 January. We note and endorse its call for all unauthorised forces present in Abyei to withdraw now, and for the Abyei Area Administration and Abyei Legislative Council to be established. We commend the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) for the positive role it has played in overseeing community-level dialogue which has helped to ease tensions.

Tibet: Human Rights

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of China on the welfare of Dhondup Wangchen.

Jeremy Browne: Mr Dhondup Wangchen's case was included in a list of individual cases of concern that the UK delegation handed over to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Special Representative on human rights, Qi Xiaoxia, at the 20th Round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in January this year. Mr Wangchen's case has appeared in previous caselists handed over to the Chinese government. We have yet to receive a satisfactory response to our request for information on his case.
	We will continue to monitor Mr Wangchen's case closely, and raise it with the Chinese authorities at suitable opportunities.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departmental Billing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many and what proportion of his Department's invoices from its private sector suppliers were paid (a) within 14 days, (b) between 15 and 30 days, (c) between 31 and 60 days, (d) between 61 and 90 days and (e) more than 90 days after receipt in the last 12 months.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) systems do not segregate invoices between those received by private sector or non-private sector organisations. As a central Government Department DFID is required to comply with the prompt payment initiative. This requires that Departments aim to pay over 80% of valid invoices within five days of receipt, with the remainder paid within 30 days of receipt. For the calendar year 2011 DFID paid 80.19% of valid invoices within five days of receipt, a further 19.26% of invoices paid within 30 working days of receipt, 0.52% paid within 31 to 60 days and the remaining 0.03% paid within 61 to 90 days.

Departmental Food

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of food purchased by his Department was produced in the UK in each of the last five years.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development's (DFID) two UK office staff restaurants have operated under contract to Mitie Technical Facilities Management since December 2010 on a non-subsidised basis.
	Approximately 59% of the food purchased by Mitie Catering for DFID's London headquarters and approximately 68% of the food purchased by Mitie Catering for DFID's East Kilbride headquarters was produced in the UK.
	Prior to December 2010, DFID's two UK office staff restaurants operated under contract to Charlton House. The CH & Co records containing the information for this period are not available to DFID. However, for the period 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009, the information provided to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for their annual report states that the proportion of UK produced food as a percentage of all food supplied to DFID was 45%. For the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008, the information provided to DEFRA for their annual report states that the percentage supplied to DFID was 32%.

Departmental Responsibilities

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with representatives of other Governments, companies or non-governmental organisations when no Government official has been present since May 2010.

Andrew Mitchell: Officials would normally be present for ministerial meetings. Details of all Ministers' official external meetings are available on the DFID website:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-DFID/Our-organisation1/Ministers/
	They are published every quarter in the normal way.

Departmental Training

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many away days his Department has held since May 2010; what the location was of each such away day; how many staff attended; and what the cost was of each such event.

Alan Duncan: Away days for Department for International Development (DFID) staff are overwhelming undertaken on DFID or other Government Department premises where there is little or no cost involved.
	Information on the number of DFID officials attending away days and the costs incurred is not held centrally and precise information is not readily available.

Departmental Travel

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 16 January 2012, Official Report, column 31WS, on cost of ministerial cars, whether his Department has any other arrangements for ministerial travel; and how much his Department has spent on (a) private hire vehicles and (b) taxis for each Minister since May 2010.

Andrew Mitchell: As set out in the Ministerial Code, Ministers must ensure that they always make efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements.
	The Department for International Development entered into a new official car contract with the London Car Service in October 2011 to ensure greater value for money than the previous arrangement. The contract will be reviewed after 12 months.
	Ministers in the Department for International Development have occasionally used taxis as they were sometimes better value for money than the Government Car Service. Ministers have also occasionally used taxis where the official car was not available, e.g. at our offices near Glasgow. Costs for taxi usage since May 2010 have been set out as follows.
	
		
			  Costs for taxi usage (£) 
			 Secretary of State 357.00 
			 Minister of State 218.80 
			 Parliamentary Under Secretary of State 176.50

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Carbon Sequestration

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent progress his Department has made in establishing the UK's first carbon capture and storage project.

Charles Hendry: The Government remain firmly committed to Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and there are a number of promising projects proposed in the UK. We will launch a streamlined selection process for future CCS projects as soon as possible after the second CCS Industry Day on 22 February. £1 billion is available for this. The Industry Day will form part of our ongoing discussions with industry on the future CCS competition.

Departmental Drinks

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much (a) his Department and (b) its public bodies have spent on (i) wine, (ii) other alcoholic refreshments and (iii) bottled water since May 2010.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 1 February 2012
	The Department's finance system does not record expenditure on (i) wine, or (ii) other alcoholic drinks separately from general refreshments. To answer this question the Department would need to review each individual expense claim and invoice for refreshments, entertaining, and hospitality since May 2010, which would incur disproportionate cost.
	As with the core Department, the Department's non departmental public bodies do not record expenditure on wine or other alcoholic drinks separately from general refreshments. To identify relevant expenditure since May 2010 would incur disproportionate costs. Any such expenditure is incurred in accordance with local hospitality policies which are designed to ensure hospitality is moderate, appropriate and properly approved.
	The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority does not record expenditure on bottled water separately from expenditure on other forms of refreshments.
	The following table outlines bottle water expenditure in the financial years since the creation of DECC.
	
		
			 £ 
			 Organisation Bottled water 2009-10 Bottled water 2010-11 
			 DECC 486 468 
			 Coal Authority 115 125 
			 CNPA 13,719 14,429

Energy: Infrastructure

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of progress towards achieving the £200 billion of energy infrastructure expenditure identified by Ofgem; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: The Government recognises the contribution that Ofgem's Project Discovery made to the debate on future investment needs.
	The Government are confident that the actions set out in the White Paper and National Infrastructure Plan 2011 will incentivise sufficient investment to deliver secure, affordable low carbon energy. Since May 2010, around 2.5GW of operational renewable electricity capacity has been added to the system. According to National Grid's latest Transmission Entry Capacity Database, around 3GW of other capacity has also been added which includes CCGT capacity and the final 400MW stage of the Britned interconnector. Additionally we have consented 17 Section 36 planning applications with a total generating capacity of over 9GW (renewables 1,601 MW, thermal 7,570 MW).
	Additionally licences have been granted to four Offshore Transmission Owners (OFTOs) which represents a collective investment from them of £254 million.

Nuclear Power

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the stakeholder engagement programmes on nuclear power issues established by the (a) Office for Nuclear Regulation, (b) Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and (c) Environment Agency.

Charles Hendry: All three organisations mentioned are responsible for their own stakeholder engagement on nuclear power issues.
	DECC has made no formal assessment, however we engage regularly with these organisations and we are comfortable that they all have well-developed and effective stakeholder engagement programmes, which endeavour to be both open and transparent.

Shale Gas: Exploration

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with (i) Cuadrilla, (ii) British Gas and (iii) any other company on regulations for shale gas drilling since June 2011; and if what the (A) participants and (B) matters discussed were at each such meeting.

Charles Hendry: Details of meetings between DECC Ministers and external organisations are published quarterly on the department's website. Since June 2011 DECC officials have met Cuadrilla 10 times, with DECC's Head of Licensing Exploration and Development and Mark Miller (CEO, Cuadrilla) attending eight of these. These meetings, which did not cover regulations, were to discuss operational issues, exploration results, and/or seismicity. There are no regulations on shale gas drilling as such, shale gas activities are subject to the same regulations as other oil and gas exploration and production activities, and there have been no meetings since June 2011 between DECC officials and Centrica (British Gas) or any other company on these regulations.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Portcullis House

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the hon. Member for Aberdeen North, representing the House of Commons Commission, for how many days each lift in Portcullis House was out of service in (a) 2011 and (b) January 2012; for what reasons lifts in Portcullis House have been taken out of service; what the cause was of any delay in repairing lifts; what measures are being taken to prevent such delays and loss of service; and if he will make a statement.

Frank Doran: The hours during which lifts in Portcullis House were out of service in 2011 and January 2012 were as follows:
	
		
			 2011 
			 Lift reference Hours out of service 
			 HOP 101 NW Corner Portcullis House 7.50 
			 HOP 102 NW Corner Portcullis House 3.50 
			 HOP 103 NE Corner Portcullis House 10.50 
			 HOP 104 NE Corner Portcullis House 113.00 
			 HOP 105 SE Corner Portcullis House 5.00 
			 HOP 106 SE Corner Portcullis House 17.00 
			 HOP 107 SW Corner Portcullis House 2.50 
			 HOP 108 SW Corner Portcullis House 2.00 
			 Total 161.00 
		
	
	
		
			 January 2012 
			 Lift reference Hours out of service 
			 HOP 101 NW Corner Portcullis House 0 
			 HOP 102 NW Corner Portcullis House 2.00 
			 HOP 103 NE Corner Portcullis House 2.00 
			 HOP 104 NE Corner Portcullis House 3.00 
			 HOP 105 SE Corner Portcullis House 0 
			 HOP 106 SE Corner Portcullis House 1.00 
			 HOP 107 SW Corner Portcullis House 600.00 
			 HOP 108 SW Corner Portcullis House 0 
			 Total 608.00 
		
	
	The main reasons for taking the lifts out of service have been difficulties with lighting, drive motors, guide rollers, safety edges and door locks.
	The guide rollers are bespoke items and replacements had to be specially made. The drive units which failed are now obsolete and therefore had to be repaired. In case these parts fail in the future, a number of spare guide rollers were made at the same time and alternative replacement drive units are being investigated.
	There has been an unusually high number of lift breakdowns since the start of the new year and the reasons are being investigated. The Parliamentary Estates Directorate (PED) is working with the lift contractor to address the matter. Contributing factors have been staff sickness and a temporary loss of expertise following a change in lift contractor in August 2011.
	A new lift monitoring system is currently being installed which will monitor the performance of all lifts in Portcullis House and will provide better information on any problems. In addition, an estate-wide lift refurbishment programme is currently being developed by the PED Programme Office.
	The hon. Member might find it helpful to speak directly to the Parliamentary Director of Estates on these detailed matters.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Register of Lobbyists

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent progress he has made on his plans to introduce a statutory register of lobbyists.

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent progress he has made on his plans to introduce a statutory register of lobbyists.

Mark Harper: The Government published our initial proposals in the form of a consultation document on 20 January. We hope that everyone with an interest in this important issue will take the opportunity to respond.

Individual Voter Registration

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he plans to publish draft secondary legislation at the same time as primary legislation for individual electoral registration.

Mark Harper: The Government are committed to providing as much information on individual electoral registration as is possible at the right point. We will publish draft secondary legislation during the Bill's passage.

Members of Parliament: Misconduct

Mary Glindon: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his policy is on constituents recalling an hon. Member who has committed serious misconduct.

Mark Harper: The Government published a White Paper and draft Bill on the recall of MPs on 13 December 2011. The draft Bill sets out in some detail a process by which an MP could lose their seat in the House of Commons as a result of a successful recall petition.

House of Lords: Operating Costs

Andrew Percy: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  with reference to his proposed reforms to the House of Lords, what assessment he has made of the annual cost of an elected upper House;
	(2)  with reference to his planned reform of the House of Lords, what assessment he has made of the cost of the House of Lords in each of the last five years.

Mark Harper: The costs of a reformed House of Lords will depend on a number of variables. In particular, the number of members and the transitional arrangements will affect the costs of members salaries and allowances. We intend to consider the views of the Joint Committee when it publishes its report at the end of March, before finalising our proposals for reform. We will publish full costs when we introduce a Bill.
	The costs of the present House of Lords are published in the House of Lords annual reports, available on the Parliament website.

London Olympics 2012

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many invitations to attend events at the London 2012 Olympics (a) he, (b) other Ministers in his office and (c) senior officials in his office have accepted; and if he will make a statement.

Nicholas Clegg: Details of hospitality received by Ministers and Special Advisers and the most senior officials are published on a quarterly basis and will be available for July-September 2012 in due course.

Ministerial Duties

Peter Bone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent activities he has undertaken in his capacity as Deputy Head of the Government.

Nicholas Clegg: As Deputy Prime Minister, I support the Prime Minister on a full range of Government policy and initiatives, and within Government I take special responsibility for this Government's programme of political and constitutional reform.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Falkland Islands

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel are tasked with defence of the Falkland Islands.

Nick Harvey: There are around 1,300 service personnel serving in the Falkland Islands. This number is subject to variation throughout the year as a result of individual posting plots and unit movements.

Armed Forces: Museums and Galleries

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent on Ministry of Defence (a) museum and (b) library services in each of the last three years; and how much is forecast to be spent on such services in each of the next three years.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 31 January 2012
	The figures for the three principal service museums are set out in the following tables:
	
		
			  Expenditure (£ million) 
			 2008-09 16.8 
			 2009-10 16.1 
			 2010-11 16.7 
		
	
	
		
			  Planned expenditure (£ million) 
			 2011-12 16.8 
			 2012-13 16.9 
			 2013-14 17.4 
		
	
	Information on expenditure relating to other museums and library services is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

British Overseas Territories: Fisheries

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assistance his Department provides to British Overseas Territories to protect their waters from illegal fishing.

Nick Harvey: The Royal Navy is not specifically tasked with the protection of the waters of British Overseas Territories from illegal fishing. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 November 2011, Official Report, column 979W, to the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell). I explained that as part of their secondary duties, maritime assets will assist local authorities in monitoring and deterring illegal activity; and I provided a list of the taskings and visits to our Overseas Territories.

Departmental Hospitality

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will ensure that his Department publishes details of expenditure on items categorised as food or hospitality other than for service personnel engaged in active service from December 2011 to December 2012 inclusive;
	(2)  what arrangements his Department makes to account for its expenditure on (a) food and (b) hospitality;
	(3)  from which of his Department's budgets expenditure on (a) food and (b) hospitality of (i) officials and (ii) Ministers in his Department are met; and how such expenditure is monitored.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 19 January 2012
	Information on MOD expenditure on food is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Service personnel in the UK and permanent bases overseas who occupy single living accommodation are catered for through multi-activity contracts that include a number of catering, retail, and leisure facilities.
	Civilian and service personnel are provided with food at public expense when on detached duty in the UK and overseas, but food costs are not separately identified in travel and subsistence expenditure.
	Where canteen facilities are provided at MOD establishments for civilian personnel at their normal duty station, food is not provided to staff at public expense.
	Information on overall hospitality expenditure is published in the Annual Report and Accounts. Separately, information on hospitality provided, and received, by senior staff is published in the ‘Senior staff business expenses’ information on the MOD website at the following address:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/FinancialReports/Expenses/
	Expenditure on food and hospitality is met from MOD's core budget except for that incurred for overseas operations where the net additional costs are met from the Treasury reserve.
	Expenditure incurred under contract is monitored by the contracts and finance branches responsible. Expenditure incurred by individuals is subject to departmental regulations, which specify the circumstances in which the costs can be incurred. Such expenditure is monitored by the budget management branch for the relevant area and individual MOD staff are subject to spot audit of all travel and subsistence costs, including food.

Depleted Uranium

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the legal review currently being carried out on CHARM3 in accordance with Article 36 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions will be published.

Nick Harvey: The review conclusion will be published.
	Legal weapons reviews are privileged legal advice, and may be exempt from publication, as they concern details of military capability. These factors may prevent the publication of the full report.

Ex-servicemen: Education

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of service leavers (a) used and (b) received funding from the Publicly Funded Further and Higher Education scheme in (A) 2009-10 and (B) 2010-11;
	(2)  what the total cost was of the Publicly Funded Further and Higher Education scheme for service leavers in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Publicly Funded Further and Higher Education Scheme for service leavers;
	(4)  what the average contribution was from the public purse to the cost of course fees undertaken by service personnel through the Public Funded Higher and Further Education scheme in the latest period for which figures are available.

Andrew Robathan: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 26 January 2012, Official Report, column 314W.
	Former service personnel who are taking advantage of the opportunity to undertake full time education free of tuition fees have not concluded their studies. It is therefore not feasible to make an assessment of the effectiveness of the scheme.

Freedom of Information

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department publishes on its website its response to each request it receives under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; whether the response is published in the same part of its website on each occasion; and what the average time taken is between responding to a request and the information being made available on the website.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) publishes a selection of Freedom of Information Act responses considered to be of wider public interest to the MOD website.
	The MOD also proactively releases information deemed to be in the public interest through its publication scheme. Judgment as to what is in the public interest is based on repeat or popular topics of FOI requests. These documents are published to the most appropriate area of the MOD website, or the appropriate single service or agency websites.
	The average time taken between responding to a request and its publication to the website varies greatly, dependent on available resources.

Helicopters: Rescue Services

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times (a) search and rescue helicopters based at RAF Lossiemouth and (b) RAF Mountain Rescue based at (i) RAF Kinloss and (ii) RAF Leuchars have been involved in operations to rescue individuals from mountains in Scotland in each of the last five years.

Nick Harvey: The number of search and rescue callouts that occurred on land in Scotland is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  RAF Lossiemouth MRT Kinloss MRT Leuchars 
			 2007 116 38 13 
			 2008 193 30 17 
			 2009 185 28 19 
			 2010 138 19 11 
			 2011(1) 152 20 6 
			 (1) Up to 30 November 
		
	
	The data above shows all RAF Search and Rescue Force helicopter callouts over land from Lossiemouth and Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) callouts from Kinloss and Leuchars. The number of these callouts which were specifically for mountain rescue missions could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Helicopters: Rescue Services

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times his Department has provided top-cover fixed wing search and rescue assets for a search and rescue mission in each of the last three years; and what aircraft were used in each case.

Nick Harvey: A number of aircraft have been used for SAR since the previous Government withdrew the Nimrod MR2 in March 2010.
	Information on the occasions when RAF aircraft have provided top-cover fixed wing search and rescue assets in the last three years is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Aircraft type Number of SAR missions 
			 2009 Nimrod 9 
			 2009 Hercules 1 
			 2010 Nimrod 2 
			 2011 E3-D Sentry 1 
		
	
	Aircraft provided by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency or overseas Governments may also be tasked by the Ministry of Defence to participate in rescue missions.

Military Bases: Northern Ireland

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many RAF personnel are based at each base in Northern Ireland.

Nick Harvey: As of 1 December 2011, there were 80 Royal Air Force personnel based at the Joint Helicopter Command Flying Station, Aldergrove; 10 at Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn and 10 at Palace Barracks, North Down.
	These figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 in accordance with the Data Protection Act to protect personal information.
	In addition, a part time Royal Auxiliary Air Force Officer fills the post of Air Officer Northern Ireland and is employed for 30 days a year at Joint Helicopter Command Flying Station, Aldergrove.

Royal Irish Regiment: Iraq

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Irish Regiment soldiers have been killed in action in Iraq since the commencement of the Iraq war.

Nick Harvey: Between 1 January 2003 (the start of Operation Telic) and 21 May 2011 (the date Operation Telic ended) there were no Royal Irish Regiment deaths in action as a result of operations in Iraq, due to either hostile action or other causes.

Territorial Army: Recruitment

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the effect on recruitment to the Territorial Army of the effect on benefits of receiving army pay.

Andrew Robathan: We are not aware of any problems recruiting to the Territorial Army (TA) specifically as a direct result of the impact of army pay on benefits. We do, however, understand that there have been some issues surrounding job seekers allowance and remuneration for the two-week TA annual camp for TA reservists. Both the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Work and Pensions recognise the valuable contribution reservists make and work closely together to resolve such issues.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum: Iran

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements her Department has made to support failed Iranian asylum seekers to arrange their departure to Iran.

Damian Green: Failed Iranian asylum seekers wishing to arrange their departure to Iran, can do so under the Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) programme which provides counselling and support prior to departure, finance for and help with obtaining a travel document if possible, a flight to their country of origin, financial support in the form of a relocation grant on departure and access to additional reintegration assistance available up to six months after return. Alternatively for those still wishing to depart but without the benefit of AVR, the UK Border Agency will assist by providing an airline ticket if appropriate.

British Parking Association

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions (a) she, (b) Ministers in her Department and (c) officials of her Department have had with the British Parking Association on wheel clamping on private land; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: I can confirm that the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), has had no recent meetings with the British Parking Association (BPA). However in the last six months Home Office Ministers met with the BPA in connection with wheel clamping on private land once, on 17 January 2012; and Home Office officials have met with the BPA twice, on 24 August 2011 and 17 January 2012.

Departmental Food

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of food purchased by her Department was produced in the UK in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: The Home Office does not directly contract for food supplies but procures catering services through wider facilities management or operating service contracts. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA's) new Government Buying Standard (GBS) for food and catering services came into operation in September 2011 and work has begun to establish the proportion of food procured by our facilities management and operating services suppliers that meets GBS criteria. From April 2006 to March 2009 Home Office also contributed to DEFRA's Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative which published three annual reports between 2007 and 2010, the link to these reports is:
	http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/policy/publicsectorfood/awareness.htm

Departmental Recruitment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department has spent on (a) recruitment services and (b) executive search agencies in each month since May 2010; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: In Home Office HQ and the UK Border Agency, information is not held centrally on arrangements for recruitment to posts below the senior civil service, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	For the Identity and Passport Service, expenditure incurred can be found in the following table. The Criminal Records Bureau has incurred no expenditure on recruitment services or executive search agencies since May 2010.
	
		
			 Annex A 
			  £ 
			 Senior civil service—Executive Search Agencies  
			 January 2011 24,000 
			 March 2011 16,250 
			 July 2011 16,000 
			 December 2011 30,000 
			 Identity and Passport Service  
			 Recruitment Services  
			 May 2010 13,845 
			 June 2010 37,100 
			 July 2010 14,463 
			 Executive Search Agencies  
			 May 2011 2,000 
			 June 2011 5,000

Departmental Training

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many away days her Department has held since May 2010; what the location was of each such away day; how many staff attended; and what the cost was of each such event.

Damian Green: The Home Office accounting system does not record expenditure on staff away days at this level of detail. Expenditure on away days is incurred in accordance with the principles of managing public money and the Treasury handbook on regularity and propriety.

Detention Centres: Children

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children have been held by the UK Border Agency in pre-departure accommodation at (a) Tinsley house, (b) Brook house, (c) Colnbrook, (d) Campsfield house and (e) Yarl's Wood in each month since May 2010; and for how long they were held on average.

Damian Green: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 23 November 2011, Official Report, columns 400-01W. The family included in the answer who were detained at Tinsley house included two children.
	Brook house, Colnbrook, Campsfield house and Yarl's Wood have never been used for pre-departure accommodation.

Extradition

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests for extradition from the UK in 2011 (a) were granted, (b) were denied and (c) remain outstanding; and from which countries these requests were received.

Damian Green: The UK’s extradition arrangements are divided into two areas. Part 1 concerns the European Arrest Warrant (EAW), while part 2 concerns extradition with non-EU territories. There is no Home Office involvement in the EAW. The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (for cases involving Scotland) are the designated authorities for processing EAWs in the UK.
	A person is not always extradited in the same year that a request is received.
	The figures for the 2011 calendar year are not yet available. The latest available figures concerning EAWs issued to the UK were given in response to a question tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Esher and Walton (Mr Raab) on 24 November 2011, Official Report, column 479W, and 1 December 2011, Official Report, column 1064W.
	A total of 79 requests for extradition were received by the UK (excluding Scotland) from non-EU countries in 2011. As a matter of long-standing policy and practice, the Home Office will not disclose whether an extradition request has been made or received until such time as a person is arrested in relation to the request.
	The following table provides details of arrests, surrenders and those not returned during 2011 broken down by country. It should be emphasised that an extradition request is not always finalised in the same year as a request is made. The figures quoted, therefore, may include extradition requests made prior to 2011.
	At the end of 2011, the Home Office had 119 outstanding requests made under both the Extradition Act 1989 and the Extradition Act 2003. The Home Office does not record these figures by year of request.
	
		
			 Country Arrests Surrenders Not returned (1) 
			 Albania 5 4 — 
			 Argentina 2 — — 
			 Australia 2 2 — 
			 Azerbaijan 1 — — 
			 Bosnia and Herzegovina — — 1 
			 Canada — 2 — 
			 Germany (Isle of Man)(2) 1 1 — 
			 Lithuania(3) — 1 — 
			 Moldova 1 — — 
			 Montenegro 1 — — 
			 Norway 1 2 — 
		
	
	
		
			 Poland (Isle of Man) 1 — — 
			 Russian Federation 3 — 2 
			 Switzerland 1 2 1 
			 Turkey 6 4 2 
			 Ukraine 5 — 2 
			 United Arab Emirates 7 — 2 
			 USA 12 8 2 
			 Total 49 26 12 
			 (1) This includes extradition requests that have been refused by the courts or the Secretary of State; or have been withdrawn by the requesting state after the person has been arrested. (2) Requests to the Isle of Man are still made under the Extradition Act 1989 as the 2003 Act has not been extended to the Isle of Man. (3) This request was made to the UK before the Extradition Act 2003 came into force.

Extradition

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any evidence was received by the independent review of the UK's extradition arrangements that the Government plans not to publish; and on what grounds such non-disclosure would be made.

Damian Green: The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), is currently considering the recommendations of the review panel and the Government will announce what action they intend to take in response to the review in due course.
	Publication of the written and oral evidence received by the extradition review panel will be subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 1998.

Extradition

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to publish the full evidence received by the Baker review into extradition.

Damian Green: holding answer 6 February 2012
	The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), is currently considering the review panel's recommendations and the Government will announce what action they will take in due course.

Human Trafficking

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to reduce human trafficking.

Damian Green: The Government are implementing their human trafficking strategy, published on 19 July 2011. This focuses on: improving identification and care of victims; enhancing our ability to act early; smarter action at the border; and more co-ordination of our law enforcement efforts in the UK.
	The Home Office is also legislating, where appropriate, to implement the EU directive on trafficking in human beings to ensure compliance by April 2013.

Marriage of Convenience

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many suspected sham marriages were reported to the UK Border Agency by Sham Marriage Officers in 2011.

Damian Green: Members of the clergy who suspect that a couple may be marrying for an immigration advantage can report their suspicions to the UK Border Agency on a voluntary basis.
	All reports and allegations submitted to the UK Border Agency are carefully reviewed, and then a decision is made as to the most appropriate course of action.
	The UK Border Agency does not hold data centrally on the number of reports made by members of the clergy.

Marriage of Convenience

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information her Department holds on the proportion of dioceses which have a Sham Marriage Officer in post.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency does not hold this information.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter of 12 December 2011 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr M Akram.

Damian Green: I refer the right hon. Member to my letter of 23 January 2012.

Olympic Games 2012

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many invitations to attend events at the London 2012 Olympics (a) she, (b) other Ministers in her Department and (c) senior officials in her Department have accepted; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: No Home Office Ministers have accepted invitations to attend events at the London 2012 Olympics.
	Information on whether senior officials have accepted invitations to attend events at the London Olympics is not held centrally.

Organised Crime: Injunctions

Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many gang injunctions have been issued since 9 January 2012; and what monitoring system she has put in place to ensure their effectiveness.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 2 February 2012
	The Home Office does not collect data on a mandatory basis on the use of gang injunctions by local authorities and the police. However, we know that several applications are already in progress following the commencement of the legislation as it applies to 14 to 17 year olds on 9 January 2012.
	Section 50 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 requires a review of gang injunctions within three years of their commencement. To inform this review we have developed a voluntary national data collection form which we are encouraging all injunction applicants to complete.

Public Health England

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health on (a) Public Health England's new responsibility for all drug recovery budgets and (b) placing a duty on Public Health England to reduce crime rates.

James Brokenshire: Home Office Ministers regularly meet colleagues across Government as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.
	Drug recovery is an important priority for the Government and both the Home Office and the Department of Health are keen to ensure that the intrinsic links between health issues and crime and reoffending rates are accounted for in the new local landscape.
	Under the health reform proposals it is local authorities that will have responsibility for commissioning and delivering public health services for their community, which will include drug and alcohol treatment services. We are therefore working to ensure local partners are fully supported in their delivery of public health outcomes from April 2013, including those that contribute towards drug recovery.
	The Public Health Outcomes Framework also includes specific crime-related indicators on violent crime reduction, reducing reoffending and reducing the number of first time entrants into the youth justice system. These indicators should encourage integrated working with criminal justice system partners and local ownership of joint outcomes.

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her assessment is of the present level of threat from dissident IRA terrorists on the UK mainland.

James Brokenshire: The threat level in Great Britain from Northern Ireland-related terrorism has been at “substantial” since September 2010, indicating that an attack is likely, but not imminent. The assessment is based on a range of factors, including the latest intelligence on the capability and intent of terrorist groups.
	Threat levels are kept under review and are altered as required on the basis of the available intelligence.

Trials

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what ongoing trials her Department is undertaking for the purpose of improving its operations; and what the cost to the public purse has been of each such trial.

Damian Green: The Home Office undertakes quality control and operational improvement work routinely, as part of normal business. Those costs reside within operational budgets, rather than being treated separately including for accounting purposes.

UK Border Agency

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Oxbridge-IT Ltd was awarded a contract with the UK Border Agency; when and for what reason this contract was terminated; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: holding answer 15 December 2011
	Oxbridge IT Ltd has not been a supplier to UK Border Agency. They were however a supplier to IBM, who are contracted to deliver services in support of the Immigration Casework Programme (ICW).

UK Border Agency

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the capacity of UK Border Agency staff to improve their performance in respect of enforced removals.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency (UKBA) maintains a strong focus on removing those with no right to remain in the UK and enforcing the removal of those who fail to leave voluntarily forms a key component of our enforcement strategy. Between 1 January and 30 September 2011, 26,962 illegal migrants in the UK were removed or voluntarily departed.
	We have identified a range of actions to drive improvements and are undergoing a change programme focused on the creation of a new removals directorate and process improvements in the management of removals across the country. Linked to this, we have a programme to improve our country planning process and charter programme. The UK Border Agency undertakes approximately 60 charter flights per year and last year we removed over 2,000 individuals on charter flights. We continue to exploit opportunities to increase returns. This includes opening and consolidating new charter routes to Ghana, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
	A major element of our programme to achieve a step change in overall removals is through expanding significantly the resource directed to encouraging those still in the country without legitimate leave to exit the country voluntarily, and then removing those who refuse to return home. Steps are being taken to enhance absconder tracing and streamline processes to improve the success rate of enforcement operations. The agency will continue to focus on maximising productivity from all its enforcement assets including reporting centres, arrest teams, immigration removal centres and charter flights.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Bribery

Gerry Sutcliffe: To ask the Attorney-General what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the successful application by the Serious Fraud Office to confiscate dividends paid by companies convicted of bribery.

Dominic Grieve: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the oral question from the hon. Member for Hammersmith (Mr Slaughter) earlier today.

Crime: Victims

Chris Evans: To ask the Attorney-General what steps the Crown Prosecution Service is taking to improve the support it provides to victims and witnesses.

Dominic Grieve: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is committed to supporting the effective participation of victims and witnesses at all stages of the criminal justice process, a commitment which is outlined in the CPS Core Quality Standards (CQS) published in March 2010.
	The CPS continues to identify ways to improve the service delivered to victims and witnesses. In December 2011, it extended the service provided to bereaved families in homicide cases. The CPS now offers to meet the bereaved family at important stages of the Criminal Justice System (CJS) process, commencing with the charging decision, through to supporting the family where cases progress to the Court of Appeal.
	The CPS welcomes today's publication of the HMCPSI joint inspection report and will be giving the recommendations full consideration.

Human Trafficking

Peter Bone: To ask the Attorney-General when he expects the review by the Crown Prosecution Service of the laws on human trafficking to be published.

Edward Garnier: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is not reviewing the laws on human trafficking. However, the CPS has been consulted about proposed amendments to human trafficking offences following a review of the legislation led by the Home Office. The proposed amended offences are included in the Protection of Freedoms Bill and should enable the UK to comply with the EU Directive on Human Trafficking. The amendments extend territorial jurisdiction and will make it easier for investigators and prosecutors to prosecute cases of trafficking where the trafficking of victims has taken place anywhere in the world, by a trafficker who is resident in the UK. The amendments will also improve our ability to prosecute those who have trafficked victims within the UK for forced labour and slavery.

Olympic Games 2012

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Attorney-General how many invitations to attend events at the London 2012 Olympics (a) he, (b) other Ministers in the Law Officers’ Departments and (c) senior officials in the Law Officers’ Departments have accepted; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Garnier: The Attorney-General has accepted one invitation for an Olympic rowing event which is being held in his constituency. I have not received or accepted any such invitations. No other invitations have been accepted by senior officials in our Departments.
	Details of hospitality received by Ministers and the most senior officials are routinely published on a quarterly basis and records will be available for July to September 2012 in due course.

Prosecutions

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions were launched by the (a) Crown Prosecution Service and (b) Serious Fraud Office in each (i) of the last five years and (ii) month from April 2011; and if he will make a statement.

Dominic Grieve: Between the period April 2006 and January 2012, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecuted 5,865,433 defendants.
	The figures for each of the last five years and the latest 10 months are summarised in the following tables.
	
		
			 CPS prosecutions, 2006-11 
			  Number 
			 2006-07 1,078,301 
			 2007-08 1,064,194 
			 2008-09 1,032,598 
			 2009-10 982,732 
			 2010-11 958,834 
		
	
	
		
			 CPS prosecutions, April 2011 to January 2012 
			  Number 
			 April 2011 64,860 
			 May 2011 75,793 
			 June 2011 79,383 
			 July 2011 75,348 
			 August 2011 78,623 
			 September 2011 82,071 
			 October 2011 72,574 
			 November 2011 77,366 
			 December 2011 66,371 
			 January 2012 76,385 
		
	
	The statistics maintained by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) only relate to the results of trials and they do not currently keep historical statistics about the date prosecutions were launched. The following table indicates how many prosecutions were concluded in each of the last five years.
	
		
			 SFO, number of prosecutions concluded in the last five years 
			  Number 
			 2007-08 7 
			 2008-09 18 
			 2009-10 13 
			 2010-11 17 
			 2011-12, year to date (31 January 2012) 15 
		
	
	The SFO does hold records of the number of people charged since April 2011 and these show that they have charged 18 individuals in relation to nine cases. The 18 charges are broken down by month charged in the following table.
	
		
			 SFO, number of individuals charged in each month since April 2011 
			  Number 
			 April 2011 0 
			 May 2011 7 
			 June 2011 3 
			 July 2011 1 
			 August 2011 3 
			 September 2011 1 
		
	
	
		
			 October 2011 3 
			 November 2011 0 
			 December 2011 0

Public Order Offences: Prosecutions

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Attorney-General what recent discussions he has had with the Crown Prosecution Service in (a) England and (b) Northamptonshire on prosecution under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 for the offence of swearing at a police officer; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Edward Garnier: The Law Officers' have not had any discussions with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) about section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986.

HEALTH

Departmental Recruitment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on (a) recruitment services and (b) executive search agencies in each month since May 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The core Department of Health central procurement systems do not hold the information on recruitment services in the format requested because of how these data are recorded.
	The following table provides information on the spend on temporary staff with the 17 commercial suppliers with whom the Department spends most for that category of spend (i.e. temporary staff) by month from May 2010. The Department may have incurred other expenditure on recruitment services that is classified elsewhere on the Department’s central procurement systems.
	
		
			 Table of spend for temporary staff with the top 17 recruitment agencies by spend between May 2010 and January 2012 
			  Monthly total (£) 
			 2010  
			 May 2,001,538.76 
			 June 2,639,274.89 
			 July 1,931,262.12 
			 August 2,327,445.18 
			 September 2,033,097.62 
			 October 1,480,322.36 
			 November 2,044,087.70 
			 December 1,582,923.17 
			   
			 2011  
			 January 1,311,559.40 
			 February 1,579,916.28 
			 March 1,960,542.45 
			 April 1,437,106.25 
			 May 1,010,926.82 
			 June 1,235,936.37 
			 July 1,289,161.92 
		
	
	
		
			 August 1,206,933.15 
			 September 1,032,594.29 
			 October 1,219,308.50 
			 November 913,736.34 
			 December 1,205,943.49 
			   
			 2012  
			 January 1,348,134.80 
		
	
	The core Department of Health central procurement systems do not hold the information on executive search agencies in the format requested because of how the data is recorded. The following table provides information on the spend for recruitment where executive search featured in the item description, the Department may have incurred other expenditure with executive search agencies that is classified elsewhere on the Department’s central procurement systems.
	
		
			 Table of spend for recruitment for items described as ‘executive search’ provided by commercial and contractor suppliers between May 2010 and January 2012 
			  Monthly total (£) 
			 2011  
			 July 20,000.00 
			 September 1,232.18 
			 October 31,597.82 
			 December 8,000 
		
	
	The following table sets out information on Connecting for Health (CfH) spend on recruitment services from May 2010 to January 2012. CfH procurement systems do not enable any distinctions to be made between recruitment services and executive search agencies.
	
		
			  Monthly total (£) 
			 2010  
			 May 85,941.68 
			 June 50,346.82 
			 July 43,888.94 
			 August 21,283.46 
			 September 31,862.18 
			 October 6,083.16 
			 November 4,082.00 
			 December 714.29 
			   
			 2011  
			 January — 
			 February 336.00 
			 March 58.80 
			 April — 
			 May — 
			 June — 
			 July 14,022.19 
			 August 26,539.37 
			 September 17,513.32 
			 October 7,016.63 
			 November 6,903.33 
			 December —

Diabetes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many events on the parliamentary estate the National Clinical Director for Diabetes has attended since his appointment.

Paul Burstow: Between her appointment in April 2008 until 1 February 2012 the National Clinical Director for Diabetes, Dr Rowan Hillson, has attended 32 events on the parliamentary estate:
	three in the House of Lords;
	22 in the House of Commons;
	six at Portcullis House; and
	one in Westminster Hall.

Drugs: Safety

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that imported unlicensed medicines contain directions for use in English; and over what timetable.

Simon Burns: Importers of medicines that are unlicensed in the United Kingdom are legally required to notify the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), in advance of the importation.
	Notifications for importation of unlicensed medicines are assessed by the MHRA and objections may be raised where there are prohibitive safety or quality concerns, or in the case of non-objections to import, advice issued where users need to be aware of safety or quality issues.
	There is currently no legal requirement for English language labelling of imported unlicensed products. However, the expectation in the national health service is that suitable English language labelling will be provided as a matter of good practice.
	The MHRA is currently carrying out some further work on assessing the impact of possible proposals on the review of unlicensed medicines. We would hope to be able to provide more information on the timetable for progressing the review in the near future. The issue of labelling in English is an area that is being actively considered under the review, with a view to minimising risks to patient safety.

First Aid: Training

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has issued to NHS trusts on the provision of cardio pulmonary resuscitation courses for the public; what his policy is on charging for such courses; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: Working across all the relevant health care professions, the Resuscitation Council provides authoritative scientific advice on resuscitation and establishes appropriate guidelines for resuscitation procedures. These guidelines provide the basis of training courses in resuscitation for both lay people and the health care profession.
	Voluntary sector organisations are doing valuable work in providing training in this area. For example, the St Johns Ambulance, the Red Cross and the British Heart Foundation, through the Heartstart scheme, provide free emergency life support training in the community and schools. Most ambulance trusts also provide training in cardio pulmonary resuscitation and it is for them to decide whether and how much to charge for this.

Hawkpoint Partners

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons he had dinner with Hawkpoint Partners on 30 June 2011.

Simon Burns: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), meets with a wide range of organisations to discuss NHS modernisation. This was one such meeting.

Health

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what ways his Department monitors global health and its effect on health levels in the UK.

Anne Milton: The United Kingdom plays a key role in the World Health Organization (WHO). Through the international health regulations member states are required to notify the WHO secretariat and member states of outbreaks of infectious diseases and other health threats. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) is the nominated focal point in the UK for notifying and receiving notifications about new outbreaks. The HPA engages in active disease surveillance within the UK and wider through its own international networks, and is a WHO Collaborating Centre.
	Through its membership of the Board of the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) and its Advisory Forum, the UK maintains strong links with partners in Europe. The ECDC has a key role in monitoring and assessing infectious diseases across Europe, and runs an Early Warning and Response System, for which the HPA is the UK contact point.

Health Education

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the Change4Life campaign will be funded in the future; and what current projects are being carried out as part of the campaign.

Anne Milton: Details of the planned funding model for Change4Life and current and planned projects are detailed within the Change4Life Three Year Social Marketing Strategy, published on 13 October 2011, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library.

Health Services: Children

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to update the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment framework to include the numbers of children in need in the core data set.

Paul Burstow: Health and well-being boards will be a forum for the national health service, local authorities and communities to exercise shared leadership in arriving at a joint understanding of local needs, including the needs of local children, and a shared strategy to address those needs. The director of children's services will be a statutory member of the health and well-being board—as part of effective joint working, we would expect directors of children services to share data such as the number of children with children in need status, and other relevant information with the board, to ensure that the needs of local children are fully taken into account.
	Statutory guidance issued by the Department for Education, “Working together to safeguard children”, states that Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs) should include the needs of children with children in need status, which will in turn inform the joint health and well-being strategy which drives local commissioning. The Department for Education, will shortly be consulting on revisions to this guidance.
	The JSNA core dataset brings together a list of indicators which local partners may wish to draw on when performing JSNAs. The Government are developing statutory guidance and wider resources to support health and well-being boards in performing JSNA and developing joint health and well-being. strategies within the modernised health and care system. As part of this work, we will explore with health and well-being board early implementers and other partners what further resources they would find supportive, including in relation to signposting to a wide range of helpful evidence sources.

Health: Screening

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the budget for the NHS Healthcheck programme was in 2011; and what its budget will be in 2012.

Simon Burns: Funding for NHS Health Checks is included in the revenue allocations made to primary care trusts (PCTs) for the years 2010-11 to 2012-13. These allocations are not broken down by service or policy area. It is for PCTs to commission services to meet the health care needs of their local populations, taking account of local and national priorities.

Influenza: Vaccination

Guy Opperman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy that the influenza vaccine should be compulsory for all public and private sector care workers.

Anne Milton: Although we would strongly encourage care workers to be vaccinated against flu to reduce the risk of them contracting the disease and passing it on to their patients, there are currently no plans to make flu vaccination compulsory. In the United Kingdom, immunisation is voluntary and is based on informed consent.

IVF: Regulation

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the likely financial savings to the public purse of the Care Quality Commission taking over IVF regulation;
	(2)  whether his Department has carried out an assessment of the effectiveness of the Care Quality Commission overseeing IVF regulation;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the effect of the funding for the Care Quality Commission on its ability to oversee IVF regulation.

Simon Burns: The Department plans to consult shortly on proposals to transfer functions, including in vitro fertilisation regulation, from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to other bodies. Alongside our proposals, we will publish a consultation impact assessment. These documents will set out our rationale for transferring functions from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, including what can be gained in relation to effectiveness and financial savings. We would ensure that in any subsequent transfer of functions, the organisation that took on functions would be funded appropriately.

Maternity Services: Bury

David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of provision of maternity services in the Bury North constituency.

Anne Milton: The provision of local health services, including maternity services, is a matter for local commissioners to determine, taking into account the healthcare needs of the local population.
	The NHS in Greater Manchester continues to monitor the implementation of the Making it Better programme of changes to maternity and paediatric services, and is assured the service changes continue to meet the needs of the local population, including Bury, and the Secretary of State for Health's four tests for service change.

Mental Health Services: Out of Area Treatment

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what proportion of out-of-area treatments for mental health patients were categorised as due to no local capacity in each primary care trust area in 2010;
	(2)  what proportion of out-of-area treatments for mental health patients were in private facilities in each primary care trust area in 2010;
	(3)  how the cost of out-of-area treatments for mental health patients was calculated in each primary care trust area in 2010;
	(4)  what the cost was of out-of-area treatment for mental health patients in each primary care trust area in 2010;
	(5)  what proportion of patient admissions were out-of-area treatments for mental health patients in each primary care trust area in 2010.

Paul Burstow: This information is not held centrally. The Government's mental health strategy ‘No Health without Mental Health’, supported by best practice guidance, set out this Government's expectation that people should receive services locally as far as possible and commissioners should develop systems to enable this, working closely with service users with mental health problems, family carers and service providers.
	We know that when patients receive treatment for long periods at a distance from home, this makes it difficult to maintain social networks and friendships. In addition, there is research which demonstrates the poor value for money of out of area treatments (OATs). That is why one of the. Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention programmes for mental health commissioners is about improving quality and value through reducing inappropriate use of OATs.
	Primary care trusts (PCTs) self assess their spend on those mental health OATs which were outside of planned commissioning intentions, or not based on a sound clinical case for a placement. PCTs then analyse their unintended or inappropriate spend, benchmark with other comparable PCTs and devise a local action plan to address this.

Midwives: Recruitment

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress strategic health authorities have made in meeting targets for local midwife recruitment.

Anne Milton: There are no targets for local midwife recruitment.
	Strategic health authorities have responsibility to plan, train and deliver a work force appropriate to the needs of their local population, based on clinical need and sound evidence.
	We are sustaining the record number of midwives entering training this year. This will help mothers get the care they want. For 2010-11, there was a record 2,488 midwives entering training and in 2011-12, there are 2,507 places available.

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (a) has not published any public health guidance since May 2011 and (b) is not scheduled to publish any such guidance until March 2012.

Simon Burns: This is an issue for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) as an independent body. NICE is responsible for the development of its methods and processes in consultation with stakeholders and, once a topic has been referred to NICE, for the development of guidance itself.
	In 2010, Ministers removed or refocused some specific topics that had previously been referred to NICE's public health work programme and this is likely to have had an effect on NICE's current publication schedule.

NHS

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which service reconfigurations 
	(1)  were covered by the Department's moratorium on future and on-going reconfiguration proposals; and what the outcome was for each of these reconfigurations;
	(2)  have been approved since May 2010; and which of these reconfigurations involved changes to (a) accident and emergency and (b) maternity services.

Simon Burns: This information is not collected centrally. The reconfiguration of local health services including accident and emergency and maternity services is a local matter.
	The Secretary of State for Health set out four key tests for service change in May 2010. The tests were set out in the revised Operating Framework for 2010-11, requiring existing and future reconfiguration proposals to demonstrate:
	support from general practitioners commissioners;
	strengthened public and patient engagement;
	clarity on the clinical evidence base; and
	consistency with current and prospective patient choice.
	Processes to review schemes against the four tests were locally determined as schemes were at different points in their lifecycle. Strategic health authorities were then required to assess whether or not the tests were met and if schemes could proceed.

Organs: Donors

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were added to the organ donor register in each (a) county and (b) region in England in each of the last five years.

Anne Milton: The information is provided in the following table:
	
		
			 Number of registrations on the Organ Donor Register (ODR) in England, by county and strategic health authority region 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2011, by year 
			  Year of registration (1) 
			 Area definition (2) 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 County:      
			 Bedfordshire 8,809 9,249 9,097 9,908 9,258 
			 Berkshire 13,824 13,585 13,625 14,069 14,229 
			 Bristol. 8,328 9,038 8,041 7,969 7,597 
			 Buckinghamshire 13^099 12,955 12,375 14,159 13,691 
			 Cambridgeshire 16,767 17,656 16,863 17,851 17,245 
			 Cheshire 16,528 19,537 17,289 18,745 17,297 
			 Cornwall 9,490 10,244 10,022 10,167 9,305 
			 Cumbria 7,990 8,284 8,202 9,162 8,133 
			 Derbyshire 15,259 18,025 15,422 16,315 13,969 
			 Devon 20,046 22,010 21,135 21,533 20,891 
			 Dorset 13,293 13,930 14,845 14,425 14,452 
		
	
	
		
			 Durham 13,652 15,669 13,404 14,656 12,593 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 8,464 8,880 9,445 9,797 8,440 
			 East Sussex 14,420 13,796 14,675 16,777 13,343 
			 Essex 27,857 29,418 29,209 30,982 30,875 
			 Gloucestershire 15,356 16,525 16,318 16,953 16,260 
			 Greater London 113,205 121,321 117,373 123,038 112,373 
			 Greater Manchester 37,612 42,988 35,994 38,280 32,165 
			 Hampshire 30,780 32,247 31,980 33,632 30,295 
			 Herefordshire 3,016 3,254 3,050 3,152 3,116 
			 Hertfordshire 19,459 20,174 20,153 21,587 20,689 
			 Isle of Wight 2,418 2,459 2,283 2,461 2,340 
			 Isles of Stilly 69 55 37 36 58 
			 Kent 29,369 31,823 31,422 32,287 29,679 
			 Lancashire 22,857 24,439 20,138 22,391 19,168 
			 Leicestershire 14,498 16,728 14,034 15,633 12,172 
			 Lincolnshire 15,026 15,925 16,218 17,308 15,705 
			 Merseyside 19,162 21,911 19,594 22,629 18,591 
			 Norfolk 14,537 15,480 15,573 16,066 14,978 
			 North Yorkshire 18,085 21,087 19,862 21,283 19,011 
			 Northamptonshire 11,544 12,084 11,942 12,932 11,492 
			 Northumberland 5,182 5,856 5,637 6,137 5,367 
			 Nottinghamshire 15,856 17,708 16,850 17,029 13,910 
			 Oxfordshire 13,225 13,416 12,535 13,345 13,335 
			 Rutland 649 720 736 864 667 
			 Shropshire 7,036 7,866 7,124 8,049 7,564 
			 Somerset 16,470 17,358 16,892 18,107 17,494 
			 South Yorkshire 17,507 21,833 18,487 19,948 17,291 
			 Staffordshire 15,604 18,644 15,330 16,527 15,080 
			 Suffolk 11,539 12,466 12,591 12,938 12,861 
			 Surrey 20,996 22,946 22,439 23,718 21,545 
			 Tyne And Wear 17,234 20,169 17,458 18,865 15,943 
			 Warwickshire 9,485 11,200 9,604 10,095 9,683 
			 West Yorkshire 33,239 37,450 34,148 35,157 32,220 
			 West Midlands 29,559 35,099 30,039 32,102 28,780 
			 West Sussex. 14,322 15,173 14,961 16,119 13,160 
			 Wiltshire 11,942 13,492 13,454 13,388 13,746 
			 Worcestershire 10,135 11,612 10,038 10,858 10,622 
			 Channel Islands 913 1,115 958 868 795 
			 Isle of Man 550 593 444 510 316 
			 Incomplete postcode(3) 314 455 418 417 294 
			       
			 England 826,576 905,947 849,763 901,224 820,083 
			       
			 Strategic health authority:      
			 North East 40,893 47,360 41,613 45,040 38,419 
			 North West 103,641 116,645 100,773 110,655 94,880 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 77,290 88,839 82,129 86,480 77,587 
			 East Midlands 68,159 76,069 70,106 74,737 62,925 
			 West Midlands 74,858 87,764 75,186 80,697 74,748 
			 East of England 98,716 104,144 103,279 109,133 105,756 
			 London 113,413 121,614 117,589 123,298 112,618 
			 South East Coast 79,113 83,729 83,435 88,817 77,688 
			 South Central 73,750 75,079 73,155 78,067 74,254 
			 South West 95,280 102,996 101,096 102,922 100,097 
			       
			 Channel Islands 913 1,115 958 868 795 
			 Isle of Man 550 593 444 510 316 
		
	
	
		
			 England 826,576 905,947 849,763 901,224 820,083 
			 (1) This is based on registrants on the ODR as at 30 January 2012 and excludes people who registered in this time period and have subsequently died or been removed from the ODR. (2) Areas defined from the Office for National Statistics postcode datasets. (3) Not all postcodes are defined sufficiently to determine the correct county—county is not a field on the ODR and is dependent on the postcode. Source: NHS Blood and Transplant

Social Services

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish his Department's planned White Paper on adult social care.

Paul Burstow: We know that urgent reform of the care and support system is needed to provide people with more choice and control and to reduce the insecurity that they and their families face.
	The Government are taking decisive steps so people can plan and prepare for their care needs, access high quality care when they need it, and exercise choice and control over the care they receive.
	The care and support White Paper and progress report on funding reform, planned for spring 2012, will set out the Government's plans for transforming the care and support system.
	It remains our intention to legislate as soon as possible afterwards.

Tranquillisers

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many companies hold licences for the manufacture or distribution of the Z drug tranquillisers (a) Zopiclone, (b) Zaleplon, (c) Zolpidem and (d) Eszopiclone; and how many of those licences were issued in the last three years.

Simon Burns: There are currently 19 products authorised in the United Kingdom containing zopiclone and 10 different companies authorised to manufacture and distribute them. Two were authorised in the last three years.
	There are currently two products authorised in the UK containing zaleplon and one company authorised to manufacture and distribute them. None have been authorised in the last three years.
	There are currently 26 products authorised in the UK containing zolpidem and. 14 different companies authorised to manufacture and distribute them. Nine have been authorised in the last three years.
	There are no authorised products in the UK containing eszopiclone.

CABINET OFFICE

Childbirth: Greater Manchester

David Nuttall: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the birth rate was in (a) Bury North constituency and (b) Greater Manchester in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated February 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary question asking what the birth rate was in (a) Bury North constituency and (b) Greater Manchester in the latest period for which figures are available. 94019
	The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has been supplied as this is the most useful measure of an area's fertility level. The TFR is the average number of live children that a group of women would each bear if they experienced the age-specific fertility rates of the calendar year in question throughout their childbearing lifespan.
	
		
			 Total Fertility Rate (TFR), selected areas, 2010 
			 Area TFR 
			 (a) Bury North Constituency 2.17 
			 (b) Greater Manchester (Met County) 2.06

Departmental Recruitment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much his Department has spent on (a) recruitment services and (b) executive search agencies in each month since May 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: The information is not held in the format requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. A monthly breakdown of departmental expenditure over £25,000 can be found on data.gov.uk. Furthermore, details of all contracts with a value over £10,000 that have been awarded since 1 January 2011, are published on Contracts Finder.

Olympic Games 2012

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many invitations to attend events at the London 2012 Olympics (a) he, (b) other Ministers in his Department and (c) senior officials in his Department have accepted; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: Details of hospitality received by Ministers and the most senior officials are published on a quarterly basis.

Public Sector: Billing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will bring forward legislative proposals to impose a statutory duty on public sector companies to pay invoices from private sector (a) suppliers and (b) contractors within 10 working days of their receipt; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: The Government recognise that being paid promptly for work done is vital for suppliers to enable them to manage their cash flow and reduce time wasted on chasing invoices. We are determined to do everything we can to help business manage cash flow and to transform the culture of late payment.
	It is Government policy to pay 80% of undisputed invoices within five days and to pass 30 day payment terms down supply chains by including requirements for suppliers to do so in contracts. We expect our suppliers to follow our example on prompt payment and pay their sub-contractors within the 30 day limit.
	In July last year I announced three specific actions our suppliers, Departments and SMEs themselves can take to help us achieve this goal.
	First, our Crown Representative team are encouraging prime contractors to pay more quickly than the 30 days commitment on a voluntary basis.
	Second, Departments are monitoring prime contractors' performance against the 30 day commitment to pay sub contractors as part of the contract management process.
	Third, we are encouraging SMEs to use the 'Mystery Shopper' service to report to Government instances where this is not happening; and we will be publishing investigated cases on the Cabinet Office website.

Voluntary Work: Young People

Stella Creasy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what funding his Department (a) has allocated and (b) plans to allocate to the National Citizens Service programme in (i) London and (ii) England in each year from 2010 to 2015.

Nick Hurd: Details of funding allocated by the Cabinet Office to the National Citizen Service programme in England are published in the Quarterly Data Summary, available on
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk

JUSTICE

Cremation

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what recent discussions (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with (i) representatives of the funeral profession and (ii) the National Funeral Directors Association on the disposal of cremation remains where funeral directors are unable to obtain instructions from next of kin or executors;
	(2)  how many times (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have met the National Funeral Directors Association since May 2010.

Jonathan Djanogly: As Minister responsible for Cremation Law and Policy I met the All Party Parliamentary Group for Funerals and Bereavement and National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) on 6 December 2010 to discuss ashes retained by funeral directors. Following that meeting the NAFD agreed to develop non-statutory guidance for funeral directors who are unable to obtain instructions on how to dispose of ashes in their possession.
	In a letter of 19 October 2011 to NAFD I confirmed that their draft guidance did not interfere with the provisions of the Cremation (England and Wales) Regulations 2008. I have not met again with the NAFD since December 2010 and nor have I discussed this matter or met with any other members of the funeral profession since May 2010.

Departmental Billing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of his Department’s invoices from its private sector suppliers were paid (a) within 14 days, (b) between 15 and 30 days, (c) between 31 and 60 days, (d) between 61 and 90 days and (e) more than 90 days after receipt in the last 12 months.

Kenneth Clarke: During the last 12 months, the Ministry of Justice paid its private sector suppliers as detailed in the following table.
	
		
			  Within 14 days 15-30 days 31-60 days 61-90 days Over 90 days 
			 Number of invoices 514,197 23,725 17,125 6,507 6,367 
			 Percentage 91 4 3 1 1 
		
	
	The Department publishes information on payment to suppliers on the MOJ internet site, accessible via the following link.
	Payment performance :
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/about/procurement-and-commercial/payment-performance.htm

Departmental Recruitment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on (a) recruitment services and (b) executive search agencies in each month since May 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Kenneth Clarke: Expenditure on ‘recruitment services’ and ‘executive search agencies’ is recorded differently across the various organisations within the Ministry of Justice. To arrive at a breakdown of monies paid for the provision of such services would require a manual examination of each invoice submitted by a recruitment agency. This would incur disproportionate cost and therefore we are unable to report an overall figure.
	However, the Department’s policy is to handle all external recruitment activity in line with the Whitehall-wide controls established by the Cabinet Office in May 2010. After this time, the recruitment of staff resources through external agencies only occurs following the delegated approval of a suitably robust business case by the Secretary of State at Director General level.

Domestic Violence

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department has taken to support victims of domestic violence during the judicial process.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Government have encouraged the creation of specialist domestic violence courts systems (SDVCs) to enable agencies, such as the police, social services, prosecutors and independent domestic violence advisers (IDVAS), to work together to better share information and risk assess cases to support victims of domestic violence. By the end of 2012-13 we will have contributed just over £9 million to this service, which helps to address the safety needs of high and very high risk victims and manage risks while they progress through the specialist domestic violence court process and beyond. We are also providing nearly £4.7 million over the next three years through our Victim and Witness General Fund to fund 44 court-based independent domestic violence adviser (IDVA) positions. Additionally, there are existing measures in courts to ensure that vulnerable witnesses, such as victims of domestic violence, are supported in court.

Family Courts

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent steps he has taken to improve the procedures of family courts.

Jonathan Djanogly: Procedures have been improved by the implementation of the new Family Procedure Rules in April 2011. This included: modernisation of language; removal of procedural differences between the three levels of court; and harmonisation to a large extent of the family rules within the Civil Procedure Rules. The rules, upon which there was full public consultation, provide for the first time a single unified code of practice for family proceedings in all tiers of court. They prescribe procedures that are easier to understand and use, not just for courts and practitioners, but also for parties.
	The Government have accepted the recommendation made by the Family Justice Review to reduce the time taken in care and supervision cases by introducing a six-month time limit in which to complete cases. This will reduce uncertainty for the children and families and could lead to better outcomes for children if it improves the likelihood of finding a stable placement.
	In addition, HMCTS has developed a programme of work to improve court administration processes. This work is based on Lean principles and will result in standardised family court processes which ensure that family cases are administered in the most efficient way possible. Process improvements have already been implemented in the administration of divorce cases and private law Children Act (contact and residence) cases. The programme of work is ongoing and will introduce further process improvements to the administration of adoption and placement cases, and public law Children Act (care and supervision) cases. HMCTS aims to deliver process improvements across all core family work throughout 2012, to assist in the timely and efficient progression of family cases.

Family Courts

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department has taken to mitigate adverse effects on children arising from their participation in court proceedings.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Government response to the family justice review is clear that a key principle of our reforms is that children must be given the opportunity to have their voices heard in the decisions that affect them. We will, therefore, work with the new Family Justice Board to establish how children can best be supported to make their views known, and taken into account, in their cases. At a national level, our plans to put in place a Young People's Board will give children the chance to influence and shape the wider reforms to the family justice system.
	Children involved in family proceedings do not normally attend court. Children who are subject to an application for care or supervision proceedings by social services (public law) are entitled to separate representation by a Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (CAFCASS) children's guardian and a solicitor, and are made a party to proceedings. Children's guardians are there to help achieve the best possible outcomes for the child they represent.
	In private law proceedings, the Government are keen to reduce the potential for conflict between separating parents and emphasise their respective responsibilities towards their children. A parent seeking to make a private law application to the court must first attend a mediation information assessment meeting (MIAM) designed to promote the use of mediation as an alternative to court, thereby avoiding exposure of the child to what may be an adversarial environment. The revised Private Law Programme Practice Direction, issued in April 2010, emphasises the need for the court to consider the perspective and involvement of the child at the First Dispute Resolution Hearing.

Family Law: Finance

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which services in the Family Justice Council funded in 2010-11 will not be funded in 2011-12.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Family Justice Council has not stopped any of its principal activities but has delivered efficiency savings in 2011-12 equating to 23% in non-staff running costs.

Legal Aid Scheme

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many decisions to award legal aid were reviewed by an independent panel in each of the last five years; and how many such reviews were successful.

Jonathan Djanogly: The data to respond to this question is currently being compiled and I will write to the hon. Member as soon as this is available.

Legal Services Commission

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to the public purse was of reviewing decisions of the Legal Services Commission in each of the last five years.

Jonathan Djanogly: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

London Olympics 2012

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many invitations to attend events at the London 2012 Olympics (a) he, (b) other Ministers in his Department and (c) senior officials in his Department have accepted; and if he will make a statement.

Kenneth Clarke: Neither I nor my ministerial team have accepted invitations to attend events at the London 2012 Olympics. The Ministry of Justice has policies for its officials regarding the acceptance of gifts and hospitality which states that gifts should only be accepted if they are modest and appropriate. Tickets to sporting events would not normally be considered acceptable. The most senior staff (Permanent Secretary and Director Generals) in my Department have confirmed they have not accepted any invitations to Olympic events.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to reply to the letter of 24 November 2011 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms C. McCall.

Kenneth Clarke: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to my response of 31 January 2012, Official Report, column 620W.
	There was no record of this letter having been received. However, my office has now obtained a copy and the right hon. Member's letter has been transferred to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills as the responsible Department for the subject matter, for answer.

Offenders: Mental Illness

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the target time is for his Department to approve the transfer of mentally ill offenders from prisons to alternative hospitals; and what the average time taken was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Crispin Blunt: Recommendations for the transfer of prisoners who need treatment in hospital for a mental disorder are considered as a priority with an internal target of 24 hours from receipt of all information required by the Mental Health Act 1983 to the issue of the transfer direction. In the three months from 1 October 2011 to 31 December 2011 the average time taken for the Secretary of State for Justice to issue a transfer direction was 0.44 days.

Prisoners: Food

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average cost of each meal provided to a prisoner was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Crispin Blunt: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) does not hold information on the actual cost of each prisoner meal. This could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
	The responsibility for determining prisoner food budgets lies with the governor who will set aside a realistic sum to meet the dietary needs of their prisoner population. Meal requirements vary between establishments and are based on the prisoner population, local regimes and seasonal availability. The average daily cost(l) for food (including beverages) per prisoner per day in public sector prisons was £2.20 for the financial year ending 2010.
	It is possible to estimate what the average daily cost per prisoner meal would be based on the understanding that breakfast, lunch and dinner account for approximately 20%, 40% and 40% of the daily food expenditure. But these percentages will vary from one establishment to another and are for illustrative purposes only—please see the following table.
	
		
			 Year ending 31 March Estimated total (1)  (£ million) Per prisoner per meal (for illustration only) (£) Estimated average daily food expenditure per prisoner (1)  (£) 
			   Breakfast Lunch Dinner  
			 2010 60 0.44 0.88 0.88 2.20 
			 2009 62 0.46 0.92 0.92 2.31 
			 2008 56 0.42 0.85 0.85 2.12 
			 2007 51 0.39 0.79 0.79 1.97 
			 2006 49 0.39 0.77 0.77 1.93 
			 2005 43 0.36 0.73 0.73 1.87 
			 2004 45 0.36 0.72 0.72 1.81 
			 2003 42 0.34 0.69 0.69 1.72 
			 2002 40 0.35 0.70 0.70 1.74 
			 2001 34 0.33 0.66 0.66 1.64 
			 2000 35 0.29 0.58 0.58 1.46 
			 1999 35 0.29 0.58 0.58 1.44 
			 1998 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 1997 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 (1) The data has been calculated using available management information from the NOMS finance systems and assumes (hat all transactions have been allocated and recorded against the correct accounting codes.

Prisoners: Repatriation

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convicted foreign nation offenders from EU member states have been returned to secure detention in their own countries since the introduction of the EU-wide prisoner transfer agreement in December 2011.

Crispin Blunt: Council Framework Decision 2008/909/JHA (the EU Prisoner Transfer Agreement) which will govern the transfer of prisoners between member states of the European Union, entered into force on 5 December 2011.
	At this time the United Kingdom, Austria, Luxembourg, Italy, Finland, Denmark, and Poland (voluntary transfers only) have implemented the Framework Decision and are ready to transfer prisoners. Our latest information indicates that the remaining member states will implement the Framework Decision in 2012-13 as their implementing legislation is enacted.
	Prisoners can be transferred under this Framework Decision but in most cases a deportation order is necessary in order to affect the transfer. 17 prisoners from the five states listed above have been identified as eligible for transfer. Their cases have been referred to UKBA for consideration for deportation.

Prisons: Procurement

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent on procuring products and services by each prison in 2010-11.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice Procurement Department provides a shared service procurement facility across the Ministry of Justice. Costs of procuring products and services are not therefore apportioned to prisons individually but to the Department as a whole.

Prisons: Psychiatry

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many clinical psychiatrists are working in prisons; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of that number.

Paul Burstow: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Health.
	The information requested is not collected centrally.
	National health service primary care trusts are responsible for commissioning health care in prisons and the NHS employs the majority of psychiatrists who work in prisons. Mental health care in prisons is provided by multi-professional teams using a number of different models according to the range of needs within the prison population. No national assessment has been made of the adequacy of the number of psychiatrists working in prisons.

Prisons: Security

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what process is used to obtain security clearance for pastoral visits to HM prisons; and how long that process is expected to take.

Crispin Blunt: All people visiting or working in a prison establishment are subject to a risk assessment, which identifies the appropriate level of vetting. A nominated member of local clergy or a religious leader visiting a prisoner will be subject to screening which includes a criminal conviction check, requiring the completion of a vetting questionnaire. Depending on specific circumstances, once all parts of the form have been completed satisfactorily the vetting process will usually take approximately three weeks, although further checks may be required in the High Security Estate.

Probation: Procurement

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent on procuring products and services by each probation service in 2010-11.

Crispin Blunt: The National Offender Management Service does not capture costs to procure products and services for each Probation Trust. To obtain and collate the requested cost details from each Probation Trust would incur disproportionate costs.

Reoffenders

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to reduce the level of reoffending by people sentenced to community sentences.

Crispin Blunt: The Government are already taking action on strengthening community sentences to seek to reform offenders for good. For example, through our work on the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, we are taking a number of steps to make community sentences more rehabilitative, such as increasing flexibility around the provision of drug and alcohol treatment.
	We are also developing proposals to reform sentences in the community so that they command public confidence and effectively punish as well as reform offenders. This includes offenders undertaking unpaid work, up to a full working week, along with job seeking for unemployed offenders, to the benefit of the community. We will publically consult upon these proposals shortly.
	In addition, the Government recently announced our plans to pioneer two pilots for community sentences which are part of our world-leading Payment by Results (PbR) programme. Staffordshire and West Midlands and Wales Probation Trusts have been selected to develop the pilots and will seek to build innovative partnerships with the private and voluntary sector to deliver frontline services across their communities for up to 2,000 offenders.

Trials

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many trials started late in each month since May 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: Table 1 provides the percentage of all listed trials that were recorded as ineffective for each month from May 2010 to September 2011, the latest date for which data are currently available, for the magistrates courts. Table 2 provides the same statistics for the Crown court for the same period.
	An ineffective trial is recorded where, on the trial date, the trial does not go ahead due to action or inaction by one or more of the prosecution, the defense or the court and a further listing for trial is required.
	
		
			 Table 1: Magistrates courts 
			 Number of ineffective trials, England and Wales, May 2010 to September 2011 
			   Ineffective trials 
			 Month Total number of trials Number Percentage of total trials 
			 2010    
			 May 13,721 2,356 17 
			 June 15,445 2,707 18 
			 July 15,573 2,661 17 
			 August 14,304 2,299 16 
			 September 15,599 2,751 18 
			 October 15,176 2,546 17 
			 November 15,578 2,779 18 
			 December 11,921 2,490 21 
			     
			 2011    
			 January 15,247 2,753 18 
			 February 13,572 2,219 16 
			 March 15,365 2,567 17 
			 April 12,198 2,032 17 
			 May 13,893 2,513 18 
			 June 14,549 2,656 18 
			 July(1) 13,722 2,372 17 
			 August(1) 13,561 2,464 18 
			 September(1) 14,433 2,697 19 
			 (1) Denotes provisional figures Source: Trials, HU Courts and Tribunals Service's One Performance Truth Database (OPT) 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2. The Crown court 
			 Summary statistics on effectiveness of cases listed for trial, England and Wales, May 2010 to September 2011 
			   Ineffective trials 
			 Quarter Number of listings for trial Number Percentage 
			 2010    
			 May 3,387 426 13 
			 June 3,954 487 12 
			 July 3,672 448 12 
			 August 3,678 479 13 
			 September 3,856 522 14 
			 October 3,626 496 14 
			 November 4,179 561 13 
			 December 2,552 464 18 
			     
			 2011    
			 January 3,934 520 13 
			 February 3,513 480 14 
			 March 4,061 553 14 
			 April 2,657 418 16 
			 May 3,674 549 15 
			 June 3,675 541 15 
			 July 3,446 529 15 
			 August 3,532 499 14 
			 September 3,510 495 14 
			 Source: HM Courts and Tribunals Service CREST system

Victim Support

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions he had with the Northern Ireland Executive Security Minister before the release of the ‘Getting it right for victims and witnesses’ consultation document.

Kenneth Clarke: I did not have any discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive Justice Minister prior to publication of the document. I did, however, write to the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland in advance of publication. The matters covered in the consultation document relate variously to England and Wales or to Great Britain apart from payments for victims of overseas terrorism for which all UK citizens will be eligible. These proposals on overseas terrorism are not new and were announced by the previous Administration.

Victim Support Schemes

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent steps his Department has taken to work with the third sector on support for victims of crime.

Crispin Blunt: The voluntary sector plays a key role in the provision of support for victims and witnesses of crime. The Ministry of Justice works closely with the sector to ensure that victims receive the support they need.
	For the first time, we have entered into a three year funding agreement with Victim Support, the national charity for victims and witnesses of crime. This will enable Victim Support to invest in long-term service provision focused on those victims and witnesses of the most serious crimes, those who are most vulnerable and those who are persistently targeted.
	As part of the Government's wider strategy to end violence against women and girls, we have put voluntary sector rape support centres on a secure financial footing for the first time, with 65 centres around the country receiving grant funding of nearly £3 million a year for this and the next two years. We are also working in partnership with the sector to develop new rape support centres where there are gaps in provision, with four new centres opened to date.
	Between them, over 100 voluntary sector organisations are receiving grant funding of more than £29 million for this and the next two years from the Victim and Witness General Fund.
	In a statement to the House on 30 January 2012, Official Report, columns 551-53, the Justice Secretary launched a consultation on far-reaching proposals to further improve the support provided to victims and witnesses of crime.

Young Offenders

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department has taken to reduce reoffending by young offenders.

Crispin Blunt: Reducing reoffending rates among young offenders underpins the Government's reforms to the youth justice system.
	The Government's Green Paper ‘Breaking the Cycle’, published in December 2010, set out our proposals in detail. Following publication, we have piloted incentive schemes to encourage local authorities to divert young people away from custody, expanded Youth Justice Liaison and Diversion pilot schemes, promoted increased use of restorative approaches to justice, introduced legislation to reform the sentencing framework and out-of-court disposals and worked with the Youth Justice Board (YJB) and youth offending teams (YOTs) and secure establishments to improve the identification and dissemination of effective practice in youth justice sector. This will include improving professional assessments of risks and needs in youth justice and to promote effective practice in supporting parents of offenders to take responsibility for their children. The programme of work to turn around the lives of the 120,000 most troubled families in the country, announced by the Prime Minister on 15 December 2011, will include a focus on reducing criminality.
	The YJB conducts quarterly performance reviews of all YOTs in England and Wales to support targeted performance improvement work and has established seven resettlement consortia throughout England and Wales which work with public, voluntary and private sector agencies to offer an enhanced resettlement service to young people to improve outcomes and reduce reoffending.
	The National Offender Management Service delivers a broad range of accredited interventions designed to address thinking skills, anger management, domestic and other types of violent crime and sexual offending. There is also a range of interventions available for offenders with substance misuse issues.
	‘Youth Justice Statistics for 2010/11’, published on 26 January 2012 and available through the Ministry of Justice website, indicates that since 2007-08 there are 29% fewer re-offences by young people. While the rate of reoffending has been broadly stable over the last decade, the frequency of reoffending has reduced by 17% since 2000.

Youth Custody

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) internal and (b) external investigations have been undertaken into self-harm, suicide and restraint in secure training centres in the last five years; which organisations undertook the investigations; and what the findings of those investigations were.

Crispin Blunt: The following tables show the numbers of (a) internal and (b) external investigations as a result of self harm, suicide and restraint in secure training centres (STCs) from 2007 to 2011. The tables also show the findings of those investigations (where relevant).
	There have been no suicides in STCs in the past five years. During the period from January 2007 to the present date, two coroners' inquests have taken place relating to one suicide that occurred in 2004. Narrative verdicts were returned at both inquests(1).
	Allegations or complaints received in respect of restraint or self-harm are automatically referred to the local authority designated officer (LADO) in all four STCs. The LADO's role is initially to determine whether an internal or external investigation is required to take place on a case by case basis. However, the LADO responsible for the local authority in which Hassockfield STC is situated takes the view that all referrals and/or complaints are to be investigated externally (and therefore no internal investigations are counted on the following table for Hassockfield STC). This differs from the LADO covering the other three STC areas who apply a threshold whereby an external investigation will take place in line with section 47 of the Children's Act 1989—where there is a reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm in the form of physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect. Any internal investigations will be carried out by the STC in line with policies agreed by the Local Safeguarding Children's Board and all findings are presented to the LADO for external oversight prior to drawing any conclusions or taking actions forward.
	All investigations are also reviewed by external inspectors from Ofsted during their inspection of STCs.
	(1 )Where circumstances of a death are recorded without attributing the cause to a named individual.
	
		
			 (a) Internal  invest igations (1) 
			  2007 2008 2009 
			  Self-harm Suicide Restraint Self-harm Suicide Restraint Self-harm Suicide Restraint 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 0 0 (2)29 0 0 (3)13 0 0 24 
			 Oakhill 0 0 13 0 0 14 0 0 11 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 14 0 0 8 0 0 12 
		
	
	
		
			  2010 2011 
			  Self-harm Suicide Restraint Self-harm Suicide Restraint 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 0 0 19 0 0 11 
			 Oakhill 0 0 25 0 0 9 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 13 0 0 22 
			 (1) In Oakhill, Medway and Rainsbrook STCs, the total numbers collated for restraint investigations only relate to those complaints and referrals concerning the use of physical control in care rather than complaints about events that may occur during a restraint, for example, verbal abuse. (2 )In 2007, the system for complaints and referrals did not clearly differentiate between different categories of complaints and referrals. Therefore the total figures given here for Medway STC, includes other issues which could be related to restraint, i.e. assault by staff, over use of force. (3) ‘1’ of these ‘13’ instances includes a complaint made against the use of ‘control and restraint’ which is not an approved method of restraint in STCs. 
		
	
	
		
			 Outcomes of  internal investigations 
			 (a) outcomes 2007 2008 2009 
			  NFA (1) Disciplinary NFA (1) Disciplinary NFA (1) Disciplinary 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 29 0 12 1 23 1 
			 Oakhill 10 3 14 0 11 0 
			 Rainsbrook 14 0 8 0 11 1 
		
	
	
		
			  2010 2011 
			  NFA (1) Disciplinary NFA (1) Disciplinary 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 17 2 11 0 
			 Oakhill 25 0 9 0 
			 Rainsbrook 12 1 22 0 
			 (1 )No further action. 
		
	
	
		
			 (b) External  investig ations carried out by LADO 
			  2007 2008 2009 
			  Self-harm Suicide Restraint Self-harm Suicide Restraint Self-harm Suicide Restraint 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 17 0 0 8 0 0 14 
			 Medway 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  2010 2011 
			  Self-harm Suicide Restraint Self-harm Suicide Restraint 
			 Hassockfield 1 0 14 0 0 23 
			 Medway 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 0 0 1 
		
	
	
		
			 Outcomes of external investigations carried out by LADO 
			 (b) outcomes 2007 2008 2009 
			  NFA Prosecution Disciplinary NFA Prosecution Disciplinary NFA Prosecution Disciplinary 
			 Hassockfield(1) 17 0 0 8 0 0 14 0 0 
			 Medway 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  2010 2011 
			  NFA Prosecution Disciplinary NFA Prosecution Disciplinary 
			 Hassockfield(1) 14 0 1 20 0 3 
			 Medway 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 (1 )The total does not include complaints and referrals related to the use of distraction techniques and/or handcuffs.

EDUCATION

Departmental Billing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of his Department’s invoices from its privatesector suppliers were paid (a) within 14 days, (b) between 15 and 30 days, (c) between 31 and 60 days, (d) between 61 and 90 days and (e) more than 90 days after receipt in the last 12 months.

Tim Loughton: In order to produce the data specific to invoices paid in the last 12 months to private sector suppliers within the periods requested, could be done so only at disproportionate cost.
	The departmental model contract terms state that we aim to pay invoices within 10 days of receipt but that payments will only be deemed to be late after 30 days of receipt.
	The Department’s performance to pay all invoices to all suppliers within five, 10 and 30 working days was as follows:
	78.88% were paid within five working days
	95.31% were paid within 10 working days
	98.86% were paid within 30 working days

Departmental Recruitment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department has spent on (a) recruitment services and (b) executive search agencies in each month since May 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Tim Loughton: The Department does not separate executive search expenditure from other recruitment costs. Information for all elements of recruitment expenditure is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Month Recruitment costs including VAT (£) 
			 2011  
			 January 11,605.57 
			 February 14,040.00 
			 March 10,915.84 
			 April 0 
			 May 16,164.00 
			 June 0 
			 July 7,869.95 
			 August 3,325.00 
			 September 18,405.00 
			 October 5,391.60 
			 November 16,240.00 
			 December 6,000.00 
			   
			 2012  
			 January 3,593.40

Maternity Services: Data Protection

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to encourage health services and local authority children’s services to share live-birth data.

Sarah Teather: Effective information sharing between health services and children’s centres can lead to earlier identification and better support families in need. The sharing of new birth data and data on families with children under five who have recently moved into an area, can be particularly beneficial to integrated delivery of services. Guidance on information sharing between health services and children’s services is available on the Department’s website and many local areas already successfully share information of this type.
	https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DCSF-00301-2010
	Nevertheless, we are currently considering what more needs to be done to ensure that any remaining barriers at a local level are addressed to maximise effective partnership working.

Olympic Games 2012

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many invitations to attend events at the London 2012 Olympics (a) he, (b) other Ministers in his Department and (c) senior officials in his Department have accepted; and if he will make a statement.

Tim Loughton: None of the Ministers at the Department for Education have accepted any invitations to attend events at the London 2012 Olympics, and nor have any of the board-level officials.

Special Educational Needs

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children awaiting an assessment of special educational needs statement or appropriate placement have not been in school or any other educational setting for (a) one week, (b) one month, (c) three months, (d) six months and (e) one academic year or more.

Sarah Teather: Information on the number of children awaiting assessment, and the duration of time spent awaiting assessment or placement, is not collected centrally. The latest available information on the number of children with statements of special educational needs educated other than in school is shown in the tables.
	
		
			 Education arrangements, assessment and placement of children for whom local authorities maintain a statement of special educational needs (SEN): England 
			 Children with statements in January 2011 Number of children 
			 Total number of children with statements educated other than in school  
			 (a) pupils permanently excluded and not yet placed elsewhere 70 
			 (b) other arrangements made by the local authority 1,050 
			 (c) other arrangements made by the parents 1,355 
			 (d) awaiting provision 690 
			 Total of (a) to (d) 3,165 
		
	
	
		
			 Assessment and placement of children with new statements during 2010 Number of children 
			 Children for whom statements were newly made in 2010 and educated other than in school:  
			 (a) pupils permanently excluded and not yet placed elsewhere 5 
			 (b) other arrangements made by the local authority 150 
			 (c) other arrangements made by the parents 130 
			 (d) awaiting provision 175 
			 Total of (a) to (d) 460 
			 Source: SEN 2 Survey 2011 
		
	
	Information on children with statements on the census date in January and new statements made in the previous calendar year is published in Table 2 of the 'Special Educational Needs in England, January 2011' Statistical First Release at
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001007/index.shtml

Special Educational Needs

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the effect of proposals in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Green Paper on the proportion of people with (a) special educational needs and (b) autism who are not in employment, education or training.

Sarah Teather: We are committed across Government to ensuring that the system is radically improved for young people with special educational needs, including those with autism. This is so they have the best chance to be healthy, succeed in education, and progress towards independence and employment.
	The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) and I have regular discussions with the ministerial team and with colleagues across Government about the proposals in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Green Paper.

Special Educational Needs

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the introduction of Education, Health and Care Plans on the proportion of people with (a) special educational needs and (b) autism, in full-time employment.

Sarah Teather: The single Education Health and Care Plan will follow the young person from birth up to the age of 25 if they remain in further education. All the services including education, health and social care will be required to work together to agree a plan which reflects the young person's needs and their future ambitions covering education, health, employment and independence. The plan will also include reviews focusing on progression towards the young person's aspirations. We expect that the single Education, Health and Care Plan alongside the other proposals in the SEND Green Paper will give young people with special educational needs, including those with autism, the best chance to succeed and progress to full-time employment if appropriate.
	20 pathfinders, involving 31 local authorities and their health service partners, are currently testing out some of the Green Paper recommendations, including the Single Education, Health and Care Plan. We intend to publish our future plans, which will take into account the responses from the Green Paper consultation and early findings from the pathfinders, shortly.

Teachers: Redundancy

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of teachers who were made redundant in each county in England in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: The information requested is not collected centrally.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Tax

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average Band D council tax was in each English local authority in (a) 1984, (b) 1997 and (c) 2010; and what the percentage change was between each year in each local authority.

Bob Neill: holding answer 6 February 2012
	Council tax did not exist in 1984; households paid domestic rates instead. Under the last Administration, between 1997-98 and 2010-11, average band D council tax in England soared by 109%, rising from £688 a year to £1,439.
	Details of both the average band D council tax in individual authorities in England in each year since its commencement in 1993-94, and the percentage change on the previous year, can be found in a table that is published on the DCLG website at
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/xls/1870335.xls

Departmental Data Protection

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many cases of data loss or breaches of confidentiality occurred in his Department in 2011.

Bob Neill: holding answer 19 January 2012
	There have been three cases involving the loss of DCLG information during the period January to December 2011. In addition, there were seven incidences where information was disclosed without permission.
	Any losses are clearly a cause for concern. My department has a code of conduct for handling personal data, and a series of steps are taken to remind staff of its importance. In addition, a director general has been appointed senior information risk owner at board level to ensure that information risk is addressed effectively across the Department. That role is supported by the chief information officer who is responsible for day-today delivery of information risk management. Information asset owners have been appointed and are responsible for specific information and data assets and for their handling.

Departmental Temporary Employment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many temporary staff have been recruited to his Department between September and November 2011.

Bob Neill: Over this period, my Department took on nine staff on temporary loan from other Government Departments and one secondment from a fire and rescue service.
	These transfers aside, no temporary staff were employed by my Department under Office for National Statistics definitions.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to publish the prospectus for his proposal on weekly bin collections.

James Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to publish details of his scheme to support weekly rubbish collections.

Bob Neill: The prospectus for the weekly collection support scheme, worth up to £250 million, was published on 3 February. The fund will support local authorities to deliver better, more environmentally friendly, weekly bin collections for residents, and will deliver benefits to council taxpayers.
	Local authorities should visit the departmental website to review the prospectus and bidding form:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/weeklycollectionsprospectus

Empty Property

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many empty homes there are in each local authority in England; and what proportion of such properties are in areas previously designated as part of the housing market renewal programme.

Bob Neill: holding answer 6 February 2012
	Details of the number of vacant dwellings in each local authority in England can be found on the DCLG website in Table 615 that can be found though the following link:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/stockincludingvacants/livetables/
	The number of vacant dwellings as at October 2011 that are in local authority areas that were previously designated as part of the housing market renewal programme are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Local authority Total number of empty dwellings as at October 2011 
			 Allerdale 1,856 
			 Barnsley 4,496 
			 Barrow 1,736 
			 Birmingham 11,924 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 3,417 
			 Burnley 2,824 
			 Copeland 1,354 
			 Doncaster 5,218 
			 Gateshead 4,426 
			 Hartlepool 1,986 
			 Hull 6,089 
			 Hyndburn 2,547 
			 Liverpool 11,881 
			 Manchester 11,116 
			 Middlesbrough 2,512 
			 Newcastle 3,771 
			 Newcastle under Lyme 1,829 
			 Oldham 4,546 
			 Pendle 2,746 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 2,564 
			 Rochdale 3,515 
			 Rossendale 1,470 
			 Rotherham 3,792 
			 Salford 4,529 
			 Sandwell 5,043 
			 Sefton 5,476 
			 Sheffield 7,699 
			 Staffordshire Moorlands 1,816 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 2,779 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 5,196 
			 Wirral 5,935 
		
	
	We have put in place powerful tools and incentives to support local communities to tackle empty homes. The Government published ‘Laying Foundations—A Housing Strategy for England’ on 21 November 2011. This sets out our plans for tackling empty homes.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement on Housing Market Renewal (Legacy) made by the Minister for Housing and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps), on 24 November 2011, Official Report, columns 30-32WS.

Empty Property

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of unoccupied properties in (a) Kensington and Chelsea, (b) Durham, (c) Northumberland, (d) Newcastle, (e) Gateshead, (f) North Tyneside, (g) South Tyneside and (h) Westminster local authorities.

Bob Neill: holding answer 6 February 2012
	Details of the number of vacant dwellings in all local authorities in England can be found on the DCLG website in Table 615 that can be found though the following link:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/stockincludingvacants/livetables/
	We have put in place powerful tools and incentives to support local communities to tackle empty homes. The Government published ‘Laying the Foundations—A Housing Strategy for England’ on 21 November 2011. This sets out our plans for tackling empty homes.

Empty Property: Bury

David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many empty homes there are in (a) Bury North constituency and (b) the Metropolitan borough of Bury.

Andrew Stunell: As at October 2011, the metropolitan borough of Bury reported there were 3,201 empty dwellings in their area.
	Details of the number of vacant dwellings in all local authorities in England can be found on the DCLG's website in Table 615 that can be found through the following link:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/stockincludingvacants/livetables/
	Data are not available at a constituency level.

Fire Services

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many firefighters in each region have been injured as a result of an assault while on duty in the last year.

Bob Neill: Figures for the total number of firefighters injured as a result of assault while on duty are not held centrally.
	The number of firefighters injured as a result of an attack en route to or at an incident for the latest available year are shown in the following table by fire and rescue authority and Government region. Data for the year 2011-12 will be available by the end of July.
	
		
			 Number of firefighters injured as a result of an attack (1)  en route to or at an incident, 2010-11 
			 Government region Fire and rescue authority Number 
			 North West Cheshire 0 
			 North West Cumbria 0 
			 North West Greater Manchester(1) 5 
			 North West Lancashire 3 
			 North West Merseyside 0 
			 North East Cleveland 2 
			 North East Durham 1 
			 North East Northumberland 0 
			 North East Tyne and Wear 0 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside Humberside 1 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside North Yorkshire 0 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside South Yorkshire 0 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside West Yorkshire 1 
			 East Midlands Derbyshire 0 
		
	
	
		
			 East Midlands Leicestershire 1 
			 East Midlands Lincolnshire 0 
			 East Midlands Northamptonshire 1 
			 East Midlands Nottinghamshire 1 
			 West Midlands Hereford and Worcester 0 
			 West Midlands Shropshire 0 
			 West Midlands Staffordshire 0 
			 West Midlands Warwickshire 0 
			 West Midlands West Midlands 0 
			 Eastern Bedfordshire 1 
			 Eastern Cambridgeshire 1 
			 Eastern Essex 4 
			 Eastern Hertfordshire 1 
			 Eastern Norfolk 0 
			 Eastern Suffolk 0 
			 South West Avon 0 
			 South West Cornwall 0 
			 South West Devon and Somerset 0 
			 South West Dorset 0 
			 South West Gloucestershire 2 
			 South West Isles of Scilly 0 
			 South West Wiltshire 0 
			 South East Berkshire 0 
			 South East Buckinghamshire 0 
			 South East East Sussex 0 
			 South East Hampshire 1 
			 South East Isle of Wight 0 
			 South East Kent 0 
			 South East Oxfordshire 0 
			 South East Surrey 0 
			 South East West Sussex 0 
			 London Greater London 1 
			    
			 Total: England  27 
			 (1) Includes: (i) physical abuse, (ii) other acts of aggression and (iii) objects thrown. Source: Incident Recording System, Department for Communities and Local Government.

High Street Review

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions he has had with senior representatives of large retail organisations to seek their assistance in implementing the findings of the Portas review.

Grant Shapps: My officials have been engaging with a broad range of external partners including representatives from the retail sector to discuss ways in which they could help with the implementation of the findings from the Portas review.
	The Association of Town Centre Management has also convened a board of external partners to act as a sounding board.

Housing Revenue Account

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will publish information on sums paid to and received by each local authority as part of his planned reform of the Housing Revenue Account.

Andrew Stunell: holding answer 6 February 2012
	We published the self-financing determinations, which contain this information, on 1 February. They are available on my Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/socialhousing/councilhousingselffinance/

Local Development Frameworks

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps local communities can take to instigate a revision of a local development framework (LDF); and what powers (a) the Planning Inspectorate and (b) he has to revoke LDFs.

Bob Neill: In relation to the steps local communities can take to instigate a revision of a local development framework I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave her on 16 January 2012, Official Re port, column 555W.
	Under section 25 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, the Secretary of State may at any time revoke a local, development document at the request of the local planning authority. The Planning Inspectorate does not have the power to revoke a local council's planning documents.

Mobile Homes

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to publish his Department's consultation document on park homes.

Grant Shapps: The Department plans to publish the consultation on park homes in the spring.

Non-domestic Rates

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the (a) forecast and (b) actual yield was for national non-domestic rates in each of the last 20 years.

Bob Neill: holding answer 6 February 2012
	Details of the forecast and out-turn contribution to the pool for national non-domestic rates for the period 1991-92 to 2010-11 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 National non-domestic rates 
			 £ million 
			  Forecast Out - turn 
			 1991-92 10,369 10,355 
			 1992-93 10,698 9,811 
			 1993-94 10,028 9,088 
			 1994-95 9,404 8,646 
			 1995-96 10,131 9,294 
			 1996-97 10,738 10,713 
			 1997-98 10,760 11,129 
			 1998-99 11,088 11,183 
			 1999-2000 11,088 11,669 
			 2000-01 13,196 12,876 
			 2001-02 13,997 14,253 
			 2002-03 14,633 14,478 
			 2003-04 14,792 14,385 
			 2004-05 15,018 14,738 
		
	
	
		
			 2005-06 16,308 15,677 
			 2006-07 17,410 16,853 
			 2007-08 17,978 17,138 
			 2008-09 18,993 18,722 
			 2009-10 20,398 19,039 
			 2010-11 20,006 18,924

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Government Procurement Card

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 13 October 2011, Official Report, column 483W, on freedom of information, whether his Department still holds receipts or invoices associated with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s Government procurement card transactions at the China World Hotel.

Bob Neill: Copies of the available records relating to this transaction have been placed in the Library of the House. Certain details, including details of other transactions, names of members of staff below the senior civil service, and card and account numbers have been redacted for reasons of personal data protection and safeguarding security.

Olympic Games 2012

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many invitations to attend events at the London 2012 Olympics (a) he, (b) other Ministers in his Department and (c) senior officials in his Department have accepted; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: At this point in time, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), other DCLG Ministers or senior officials have neither received nor accepted invitations to attend events at London 2012 Olympics.

Planning Permission

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to streamline the process of planning applications by businesses.

Bob Neill: We are taking forward a range of reforms to benefit all applicants, including businesses. We intend to consult shortly on proposals to streamline the information requirements for planning applications, and have also signalled our intention to introduce a 'planning guarantee', that it should take no longer than 12 months to get a final decision on a planning application, including any appeal.
	We are working closely with other Departments to implement the recommendations of the Penfold Review, by improving the integration between the planning system and other consents that applicants need before they can complete their schemes. An Implementation Plan was published in November last year.

Rents

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the number of (a) one, (b) two and (c) three bedroom social housing properties in (i) Barnsley Central constituency, (ii) Barnsley East, (iii) Penistone and Stocksbridge, (iv) Wakefield and (v) Wentworth and Dearne constituencies; and what estimate he has made of the average level of rent in each type of house.

Andrew Stunell: holding answer 6 February 2012
	Data on social housing at constituency level is not held centrally. Information is provided to the Department by local authorities that own stock in their Housing Revenue Account subsidy returns. The Tenant Services Authority collect information on stock owned by private Registered Providers. Data from these sources on the stock and rent levels of social housing for the local authority areas in which the constituencies in the question are located are given in the following tables.
	
		
			 Private registered provider stock (1, 2, ) 3— General needs 
			  1 bedroom 2 bedroom 3 bedroom 
			 Local authority area Stock (units) Rent (£ per week) Stock (units) Rent (£ per week) Stock (units) Rent (£ per week) 
			 Barnsley 205 59.01 661 69.75 723 77.69 
			 Rotherham 691 58.81 1,145 67.39 701 75.16 
			 Sheffield 2,847 57.06 5,282 62.82 4,718 68.88 
			 Wakefield 5,659 57.37 12,516 63.71 12,530 69.43 
		
	
	
		
			 Private registered provider stock (1, 2, 3) — Supported housing/housing for older people 
			  1 bedroom 2 bedroom 3 bedroom 
			 Local authority area Stock (units) Rent (£ per week) Stock (units) Rent (£ per week) Stock (units) Rent (£ per week) 
			 Barnsley 480 61.35 444 71.55 25 77.26 
			 Rotherham 651 60.83 398 68.06 9 81.45 
			 Sheffield 892 65.74 434 78.31 44 104.51 
			 Wakefield 1,936 59.39 993 69.22 17 75.80 
		
	
	
		
			 Local authority owned stock (4) 
			  1 bedroom 2 bedroom 3 bedroom 
			 Local authority area Stock (units) Rent (£ per week) Stock (units) Rent (£ per week) Stock (units) Rent (£ per week) 
			 Barnsley 4,129 52.71 6,451 58.80 8,085 63.11 
			 Sheffield 13,768 55.84 14,935 62.16 12,020 69.67 
			 Rotherham 4,906 56.78 6,689 62.20 8,963 68.31 
			 (1) Data on Private Registered Providers stock and rents represent the position as at 31 March 2011. More extensive data, including all property sizes and for all local authority areas in England, are available in the Guide to Local Rents part II and III, available from the TSA website: http://www.tenantservicesauthority.org/server/show/ConWebDoc.21432 (2) Rents presented do not include service charges. (3) These data exclude Private Registered Providers owning/managing fewer than 1,000 units/bedspaces, who are not required to report on their stock and rents by bedroom size. (4) Local authority owned stock is from the Housing Revenue Account subsidy base data form for 2012-13 and is as at 1 April 2011. Average actual local authority rents are taken from the 2011-12 Housing Revenue Account subsidy second advance claim form and are for 2011-12.

Second Homes

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many properties in each local authority in England are classed as second homes.

Bob Neill: holding answer 6 February 2012
	Details of the number of dwellings registered as second homes for council tax purposes in each local authority in England are available in the table ‘Council tax base local authority level data 2011’ which can be found on the DCLG website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/counciltaxbase2011

Social Services

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations he has received on the role of local authorities in reform of social care; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), has received no formal representations on the role of local authorities in social care reform. The Department for Health carried out an engagement exercise with stakeholders on priorities for reform last autumn and will publish a White Paper on the reform of adult social care in the spring. The Department for Communities and Local Government has been working closely with the Department for Health to understand the impact of social care reform on local authorities and to clarify the role of authorities in this area.

Travellers: Evictions

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many Gypsies and Travellers have been evicted from authorised sites in each of the last three years.

Andrew Stunell: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not collect this information.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Council Tax

Nick Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2012, Official Report, columns 1021-2W, on council tax, if he will place in the Library copies of the returns made to his Department by each local authority in respect of the data published by his Department in Table 15a and 15b on 14 December 2011.

Steve Webb: I am withholding the information requested because it contains details of individual housing benefit and council tax benefit claimants and therefore provision of such data would breach the Data Protection Act.

Disability Living Allowance

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will ensure that the new disability living allowance assessment does not disqualify people with pervasive developmental disorders from receipt of disability living allowance.

Maria Miller: The Government have made clear that they want personal independence payment, which will replace disability living allowance (DLA) for working age people from 2013-14, to take fairer account of the impact of mental, intellectual, cognitive and developmental impairments than DLA does currently. This is reflected in the assessment criteria for the benefit. For example, when considering entitlement to both rates of the mobility component we will take into account ability to plan and follow a journey, in addition to physical ability to get around. Importantly, PIP is designed to assess barriers individuals' face, not make judgment based on their impairment type.
	We are developing the assessment criteria in liaison with a group of independent experts in health and disability and are working closely with disabled people and a wide range of disability organisations. The second draft of the assessment criteria, which was published in November 2011, was significantly improved in large part as a result of the feedback we have been given. For example, we have revised the way we are planning to assess ability to communicate and interact socially, as suggested by the National Autistic Society.
	We are currently consulting on the second draft of the assessment criteria, which will run until 30 April 2012. The assessment criteria and consultation document can be found at:
	www.dwp.gov.uk

Employment and Support Allowance

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in the support group receiving employment and support allowance reside in each county in England.

Chris Grayling: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Employment Schemes: Graduates

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what programmes his Department has to assist graduates into employment.

Chris Grayling: Jobcentre Plus has a comprehensive menu of support to help claimants move into employment. This includes:
	Work experience which helps young unemployed people get valuable work experience through a placement with a local business;
	Support for people to become self-employed;
	Sector-based work academies which offer pre-employment training and work experience placements in sectors with high volumes of local vacancies. Participants will receive a guaranteed job interview upon completion of their training and placement; and
	A Flexible Support Fund which enables Jobcentre Plus advisers to provide tailored support to individual claimants.
	Although there is no specific support available for graduates, each individual will be able to work with their personal adviser to find the right avenue of support to bring them closer to employment. Advisers also signpost graduates to specialist agencies, which can provide advice on vacancies at graduate level, and offer targeted additional support where appropriate.
	Claimants who do not find work while with Jobcentre Plus are referred to the Work programme at the most appropriate point in claim. The Work programme gives more autonomy to providers, enabling them to design support based on individual and local need.

Housing Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the change in the level of savings which will accrue from the implementation of a household benefit cap policy as a result of the introduction of a transitional period; and which parts of his Department's budget will be affected by this change.

Chris Grayling: We estimate that the grace period of 39-weeks for claimants who have been in employment for 52-weeks or more before leaving work will reduce by £30 million the savings projected in the impact assessment published on the 23 of January, following the concessions won in the House of Commons on 1 February. The figures in the impact assessment are of course subject to change ahead of the Welfare Reform Bill gaining Royal Assent.

Housing Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much additional Discretionary Housing Payment he has allocated in respect of (a) the household benefit cap and (b) under-occupation; and from which parts of his Department's budget the funding for such payments will be taken.

Steve Webb: We will provide a range of transitional support on the introduction of the benefit cap to assist households including helping to manage families into more appropriate accommodation. This will include additional funds for local authorities to make discretionary housing payments to help hard cases. We will provide up to £80 million for this purpose in 2013/14, and a further £50 million in 2014/15. These increases are funded from the forecast savings arising from the introduction of the overall benefit cap as set out in the revised impact assessment on 23 January.
	On 14 December 2011 we announced that we would add an extra £30 million to the discretionary housing payment budget from 2013/14. This additional funding is aimed at helping two groups in particular affected by the introduction of size criteria for social sector housing benefit claims. The first is disabled people who live in significantly adapted accommodation; the extra funding is to enable them to remain in their existing homes. The second group is foster carers, including those who need to keep an extra room when they are in between fostering. The increases to discretionary housing payments were factored into the overall design of the social sector size criteria policy.
	Notes:
	1. The revised impact assessment can be found at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/household-benefit-cap-wr2011-ia.pdf

Housing Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much he expects to pay to local authorities in Discretionary Housing Payment in each year of the Comprehensive Spending Review period; which policies those payments are expected to cover; and how the payments will be allocated between authorities.

Steve Webb: Discretionary housing payments (DHPs) are payments that provide claimants with further financial assistance when a local authority (LA) considers that help with housing costs is needed. The Government contribution towards DHPs announced at the 2010 spending review is £20 million in 2010/11, £30 million in 2011/12 and £60 million in 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15.
	On 14 December 2011 we announced that we would add an extra £30 million to the discretionary housing payment budget from 2013/14. This additional funding is aimed at helping two groups in particular. The first is disabled people who live in significantly adapted accommodation; the extra funding is to enable them to remain in their existing homes. The second group is foster carers, including those who need to keep an extra room when they are in between fostering.
	We have also announced will additional funds for local authorities to make discretionary housing payments to help hard cases affected by the overall benefit cap. We will provide up to £80 million for this purpose in 2013/14, and a further £50 million in 2014/15.
	Local authorities are able to exercise broad discretion when assessing claims for DHPs, while acting in accordance with ordinary principles about good decision making, ie administrative law. In particular, LAs have a duty to act fairly, reasonably and consistently. The Department issues guidance to assist local authority decision making, which is regularly updated to reflect changes in Government policy.
	The 2012/13 DHP contribution has been decided and local authorities have been informed of their allocation. The methodology broadly allocates £20 million on a historical basis and £40 million on the basis of the estimated impact of local housing allowance reforms. Allocations of the contribution in future years will be considered in the context of expected demand for DHPs across LAs. Our usual practice is to consult with representatives from the local authority associations about the methodology for allocating this DHP funding.
	This process should be finalised by the autumn of 2012 with local authorities being notified of their individual 2013/14 allocations before the end of this calendar year.
	Notes:
	1. The DHP guidance can be found at the following link:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dhpguide.pdf
	2. The details of the 2012-13 allocations, including the methodology, can be found at the following link:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/s10-2011.pdf

Independent Living Fund

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the likely effect of abolition of the Independent Living Fund on the number of people in residential care.

Maria Miller: No decision has been made on the future of the Independent Living Fund (ILF). On 13 December 2010, Official Report, column 85WS, I announced that the ILF would remain permanently closed to new applications, and that the Government would consult on how existing users would be supported beyond 2015. In a written statement on 5 December 2011, Official  Report, column 8WS, I announced that the consultation will be launched in spring 2012 alongside the publication of the publication of the White Paper on future of the care and support in England. The consultation will allow us to better understand how ILF users can be supported in the future in the wider system of care and support for disabled people.

Independent Living Fund

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he had with users of the Independent Living Fund before taking the decision to end the fund.

Maria Miller: Prior to the decision announced in December 2010 to permanently close the Independent Living Fund (ILF) to new users, I consulted informally with disability organisations, local government representatives, colleagues in the Department of Health and representatives of the ILF. In my written ministerial statement on 5 December 2011, Official Report, column 8WS, I announced that, in spring and alongside the publication of the White Paper on the funding of social care, we would consult on how best to support the existing Users of the ILF beyond 2015. We will consult fully with disabled people, particularly current users of the ILF and their families, local authorities and other interested parties, including the devolved Administrations.

Local Authorities: Halton

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the oral answer of 1 February 2012, Official Report, column 920, what work his Department carried out with local authorities; and what discretionary payments are available in respect of Halton constituency.

Steve Webb: We are engaging with social housing providers, local authorities and other Government Departments to build an effective implementation and communications strategy that will support tenants, their advisers and housing providers in preparing properly for the introduction of size criteria in the social rented sector. We have conducted a survey of around 200 local authorities and housing associations as well as setting up a social landlord advisory group in conjunction with the Department for Communities and Local Government to help look at the practical implications of the changes.
	Discretionary housing payments (DHPs) are payments that provide claimants with further financial assistance when a local authority (LA) considers that help with housing costs is needed. For the current financial year 2011-12 the Department has made available £39,462 to Halton borough council. In 2012-13 the Government contribution will rise to £87,105. The allocation of the Government's contribution in 2013-14 has yet to be determined.

Pension Funds

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure that pension funds contribute to more responsible capitalism;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure that pension funds' shareholder rights are exercised responsibly in the long-term interests of policyholders.

Steve Webb: Legislation requires a pensions scheme's statement of investment principles to disclose the extent to which social, environmental, or ethical considerations are taken into, account in the selection, retention, and realisation of investments, and it also requires schemes to disclose their policy in relation to the exercise of the rights (including voting rights) attached to their investments.
	The Government have also commissioned the current review by Professor John Kay. This review, due to report later this year, will examine UK equity markets and their impact on the long-term performance and governance of UK businesses. It will also look at the fiduciary duties of pension funds and their role as long-term investors. The Government will study the conclusions and recommendations of the Kay review very carefully once it is completed.

Social Security Benefits

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of benefits claimants (a) on the Isle of Wight and (b) in Inner London receive benefits over £25,000 per year.

Chris Grayling: The Department published an impact assessment on 23 January 2012 which related to a household benefit cap of £500 per week (around £26,000 per year) for couple and lone parent households, and a household benefit cap of £350 per week (around £18,000 per year) for single-person households, to apply from the financial year 2013-14. Following the concessions won in the House of Commons on 1 February, these figures are of course subject to change ahead of the Welfare Reform Bill gaining Royal Assent.
	On the basis of that impact assessment, the number of households estimated to be affected on the Isle of Wight is fewer than 100. The number of households estimated to be affected in all London boroughs is 35,600.
	These figures relate to the financial year 2013-14 when the cap is due to be implemented.
	The impact assessment assumes that the situation of these households will go unchanged, and they will not take any steps to either work enough hours to qualify for working tax credit, renegotiate their rent in situ, or find alternative accommodation. In all cases the Department is working to support households through this transition, using existing provision through Jobcentre Plus and the Work programme to move as many into work as possible.

Social Security Benefits

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Weaver Vale constituency, (b) Doncaster North constituency and (c) the UK receive over £26,000 per annum in benefits.

Chris Grayling: The information is not available by parliamentary constituency.
	On 23 January 2012, the Department published an updated impact assessment for the household benefit cap, which estimated that in Great Britain, 67,000 households would be affected by the cap, in the first year of its implementation (the financial year 2013-14). Following the concessions won in the House of Commons on 1 February, these figures are of course subject to change ahead of the Welfare Reform Bill gaining Royal Assent.
	The impact assessment assumes that the situation of these households will go unchanged, and they will not take any steps to either work enough hours to qualify for working tax credit, renegotiate their rent in situ, or find alternative accommodation. In all cases, the Department is working to support households through this transition, using existing provision through Jobcentre Plus and the Work programme to move as many into work as possible.

Social Security Benefits

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Hyndburn constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) England he estimates will be affected by each of the benefit caps proposed in the Welfare Reform Bill.

Chris Grayling: The information is not available by parliamentary constituency.
	Around 800 households in Lancashire will be affected.
	Around 61,600 households in England will be affected.
	The figures are rounded to the nearest 100, and relate to the financial year 2013-14 when the cap is implemented, and are on the same basis as the impact assessment which was published on 23 January 2012. Following the concessions won in the House of Commons on 1 February, these figures are of course subject to change ahead of the Welfare Reform Bill gaining Royal Assent.
	The impact assessment assumes that the situation of these households will go unchanged, and they will not take any steps to either work enough hours to qualify for working tax credit, renegotiate their rent in situ, or find alternative accommodation. In all cases the Department is working to support households through this transition, using existing provision through Jobcentre Plus and the Work programme to move as many into work as possible.

Social Security Benefits

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many working age households in Halton constituency were in receipt of benefits that totalled more than the proposed benefit cap under the provisions of the Welfare Reform Bill excluding those households which are exempted in the latest period for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: The information is not available by parliamentary constituency.

Social Security Benefits: Brighton

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in the Brighton and Hove local authority area will be affected by his proposed benefits cap.

Chris Grayling: The number of households affected is estimated to be 400.
	The figures are rounded to the nearest 100, and relate to the financial year 2013-14 when the cap is implemented, and are on the same basis as the impact assessment which was published on 23 January 2012. Following the concessions won in the House of Commons on 1 February, these figures are of course subject to change ahead of the Welfare Reform Bill gaining Royal Assent.
	The impact assessment assumes that the situation of these households will go unchanged, and they will not take any steps to either work enough hours to qualify for working tax credit, renegotiate their rent in situ, or find alternative accommodation. In all cases, the Department is working to support households through this transition, using existing provision through Jobcentre Plus and the Work programme to move as many into work as possible.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many couples with children who work between 16 and 24 hours a week included at least one partner who claims (a) carers allowance, (b) disability living allowance, (c) incapacity benefit and (d) disability living allowance on behalf of a disabled child; and how many claims from such couples included (i) one partner who claimed carers allowance as a full-time carer, (ii) the disability element of child tax credit for a disabled child and (iii) the severe disability element of child tax credit for a severely disabled child in the latest period for which figures are available.

Maria Miller: We are unable to provide the information requested. We use Family Resources Survey data to provide estimates of household benefit receipt. However, the sample size is not sufficient to provide estimates for small groups such as those requested at part (i) and data are not collected for parts (ii) and (iii).

Social Security Benefits: Plymouth

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of registered benefit claimants from outside the EU, who originally came to the UK to work, study or visit, who are registered as living in Plymouth.

Chris Grayling: DWP has recently published statistics on the nationality of benefit claimants at the point of their registration for a national insurance number. These indicate that, at February 2011, 371,000 (6.4%) of DWP working age benefits claimants were non-UK nationals when they registered for their national insurance number. Of these, 25% were EU nationals and 75% were non-EU nationals.
	Further information can be found in the full statistics release ‘Nationality at point of National Insurance number registration of DWP benefit claimants’ at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/press-releases/2012/jan-2012/dwp005-12.shtml
	The estimated numbers of working age benefit claimants in Plymouth who were non-UK nationals when they registered for a national insurance number are given in the following table, broken down in to EU and non-EU nationals:
	
		
			 Non-UK nationals at NINo registration: DWP working age benefit claimants by world area in Plymouth unitary authority, February 2011 
			  Number 
			 European Union 250 
			 Non-European Union 410 
			 Notes: 1. These statistics do not provide a measure of non-UK nationals currently claiming benefits based on their current nationality. The statistics do provide an estimate of the number of people currently claiming benefit who, when they first registered for a NINo (that is, first entered the labour market), were non-UK nationals. 2. The above totals exclude a small number of claimants where the nationality is unknown (Non-UK). 3. Geography represents the information taken from the benefit claim as at February 2011—this is not necessarily the location at NINo registration. 4. World area of origin is based on a claimant's nationality. The mapping for ‘world areas’ is based on the present day. Bulgaria and Romania are classed as EU accession states. 5. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Source: DWP: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study and HMRC National Insurance and Pay as you Earn System (NPS)

Social Security Benefits: Scotland

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children will be affected by the proposed cap on benefits affecting their parent or carer in each (a) local authority area and (b) parliamentary constituency in Scotland; and what the average weekly reduction in payments will be in each case.

Chris Grayling: The information is not available by parliamentary constituency.
	The following table shows the estimated number of children in households affected, and the median reduction in weekly household benefit, after the household cap is applied, for each Scottish local authority area.
	The figures relate to the financial year 2013-14 when the cap is implemented, and are on the same basis as the impact assessment which was published on 23 January 2012. Following the concessions won in the House of Commons on 1 February, these figures are of course subject to change ahead of the Welfare Reform Bill gaining Royal Assent.
	The impact assessment takes no account of any steps that households affected might take to either work enough hours to qualify for working tax credit, renegotiate their rent in situ, or find alternative accommodation. In all cases, the Department will work to support households through this transition and use existing provision through Jobcentre Plus and the Work programme to move as many into work as possible.
	
		
			 Local authority area Estimated number of children in capped households Median reduction in benefits (£ per week) 
			 Aberdeen 200 46 
			 Aberdeenshire — — 
			 Angus — — 
			 Argyll and Bute — — 
			 Scottish Borders — — 
			 Clackmannanshire — — 
			 West Dunbartonshire 100 101 
			 Dumfries and Galloway — — 
			 Dundee 400 39 
			 East Ayrshire — — 
			 East Dunbartonshire — — 
			 East Lothian — — 
		
	
	
		
			 East Renfrewshire — — 
			 Edinburgh 1,100 82 
			 Falkirk — — 
			 Fife 600 53 
			 Glasgow 1,400 47 
			 Highland — — 
			 Inverclyde — — 
			 Midlothian — — 
			 Moray — — 
			 North Ayrshire 300 24 
			 North Lanarkshire — — 
			 Orkney Islands — — 
			 Perth and Kinross — — 
			 Renfrewshire — — 
			 Shetland Islands — — 
			 South Ayrshire — — 
			 South Lanarkshire 300 35 
			 Stirling — — 
			 West Lothian — — 
			 Eilean Siar — — 
			 Note: Child numbers are rounded to the nearest 100. The median £ per week reduction in benefit is rounded to the nearest whole pound, and both figures are presented for areas with more than 100 households affected. Areas with fewer than 100 children affected are denoted by “—”, as additional disclosure control has been applied to these areas. For this reason, figures will not sum to the Scottish total number of households affected in the January 2012 impact assessment for the household benefit cap.

Social Security Benefits: Scotland

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefit claimants he estimates will be affected by his proposed cap on benefits in each Scottish (a) local authority area and (b) parliamentary constituency; and what estimate he has made of the average weekly change in payments in each case.

Chris Grayling: The information is not available by parliamentary constituency.
	The following table shows the estimated number of households affected, and the median reduction in weekly benefit after the household cap is applied, for each Scottish local authority area.
	The figures relate to the financial year 2013-14 when the cap is implemented, and are on the same basis as the impact assessment which was published on 23 January 2012. Following the concessions won in the House of Commons on 1 February, these figures are of course subject to change ahead of the Welfare Reform Bill gaining Royal Assent.
	The impact assessment assumes that the situation of these households will go unchanged, and they will not take any steps to either work enough hours to qualify for working tax credit, renegotiate their rent in situ, or find alternative accommodation. In all cases the Department is working to support households through this transition, using existing provision through Jobcentre Plus and the Work programme to move as many into work as possible.
	
		
			 Local authority Number of households Median reduction in benefits (£ per week) 
			 Aberdeen 100 46 
			 Aberdeenshire (1)— (1)— 
			 Angus (1)— (1)— 
			 Argyll and Bute (1)— (1)— 
			 Clackmannanshire (1)— (1)— 
			 Dumfries and Galloway (1)— (1)— 
			 Dundee 100 39 
			 East Ayrshire (1)— (1)— 
			 East Dunbartonshire (1)— (1)— 
			 East Lothian (1)— (1)— 
			 East Renfrewshire (1)— (1)— 
			 Edinburgh 500 82 
			 Falkirk (1)— (1)— 
			 Fife 200 53 
			 Glasgow 500 47 
			 Highland (1)— (1)— 
			 Inverclyde (1)— (1)— 
			 Midlothian (1)— (1)— 
			 Moray (1)— (1)— 
			 North Ayrshire 200 24 
			 North Lanarkshire (1)— (1)— 
			 Perth and Kinross (1)— (1)— 
			 Renfrewshire (1)— (1)— 
			 Scottish Borders (1)— (1)— 
			 South Ayrshire (1)— (1)— 
			 South Lanarkshire 100 35 
			 Stirling (1)— (1)— 
			 West Dunbartonshire 200 101 
			 West Lothian (1)— (1)— 
			 Orkney Islands (1)— (1)— 
			 Shetland Islands (1)— (1)— 
			 Eilean Siar (1)— (1)— 
			 (1) Areas with fewer than 100 households affected are denoted by ‘—’, as additional disclosure control has been applied to these areas. For this reason, figures will not sum to the Scottish total number of households affected in the January 2012 impact assessment for the household benefit cap. Note: Household numbers are rounded to the nearest 100. The median £ per week reduction in benefit is rounded to the nearest whole pound.

Social Services: Finance

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues on planned reforms to the funding of social care.

Maria Miller: DWP Ministers have had a number of discussions with ministerial colleagues in the Department for Health over the last year to discuss the findings of the Dilnot Commission on the funding of social care, and the forthcoming care and support White Paper.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether wage subsidies under the Youth Contract will be equally divided among Work programme providers in each contract package area.

Chris Grayling: No decisions have been taken on how wage incentives will be distributed between contract package areas or Work programme providers. More information will be available in due course.

Working Tax Credit

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to his planned reforms of working tax credit, if he will make it his policy that couples with children who are unable to continue in their job due to changes in their entitlement to working tax credit will not be subject to job seeker's allowance sanctions.

Chris Grayling: If an individual claims jobseeker's allowance, we will ask them why their previous employment ended. If it is deemed that the individual left their employment voluntarily, and the employer confirms this, then the case will be referred to an impartial decision maker. The individual will have an opportunity to put forward their reasons for the job ending and the decision maker will take account of all the individual circumstances of the case when determining whether or not a sanction should be applied. This includes taking account of the financial changes with reference to the particular job in question. The decision maker uses the relevant legislation and established case law to establish whether (on the balance of probabilities) the person had ‘just cause’ for leaving their employment voluntarily.
	Of course should an individual claim jobseekers allowance we will look to support them in moving back into employment as quickly as possible.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Angard

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will ask the Post Office to prepare and publish an evaluation of the (a) services provided by and (b) employment policy of the contract company Angard.

Norman Lamb: Operational matters, such as arrangements with Angard and its employment practices, are the responsibility of management at Royal Mail. The Government do not play a role in these issues.

Angard

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Post Office on (a) outstanding pay owed to employees and (b) ongoing disputes with employees or former employees in respect of the contract company Angard.

Norman Lamb: Operational matters, such as the recruitment of temporary staff using Angard, are the responsibility of management at Royal Mail. The Government does not play a role in these issues.
	Clearly, the problems experienced by some seasonal workers are deeply regrettable. My right hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), the now Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change raised this matter with Royal Mail and had been assured that Royal Mail management are continuing to work very hard to rectify any outstanding issues. In addition, I understand that the company has been reviewing the issues that arose last Christmas with a view to ensuring that there is no repeat in future.

Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations he has received on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.

Norman Lamb: The Intellectual Property Office held a number of stakeholder meetings during the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) negotiations. A range of stakeholders including business, internet service providers and consumer interest and open rights groups participated. The last stakeholder consultation was held in September 2010 prior to the final round of negotiations. Interested parties were also invited to submit comments via the Intellectual Property Office ACTA website.

Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his plans are for the ratification of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.

Norman Lamb: The UK signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement on 26 January 2012. The agreement is currently with the European Parliament with a vote on consent likely to take place towards late summer 2012. The UK intends to ratify the agreement in due course.

Copyright

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what (a) economic research was conducted and (b) advice was sought in preparation of (i) Impact Assessment BIS0315, Protecting copyright exceptions from override by contract and (ii) Impact Assessment BIS0312, Exception for copying of works for use by text and data analysis.

Norman Lamb: The initial impact assessments published with the current consultation on copyright were developed on the basis of available evidence from a range of sources, including the submissions made to the Hargreaves Review. The Government are now seeking more detailed evidence on the costs and benefits to all parties who could be affected by the proposals, through public consultation.

Copyright

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions officials in his Department have had with officials of the European Commission on the proposal to introduce a copyright exception for data and text mining.

Norman Lamb: The Government have regular discussions with the European Commission on a wide range of copyright and other intellectual property policy issues including the Hargreaves Review, which recommended introduction of an EU-wide copyright exception for data and text mining, The Government are currently consulting on a proposal for a UK copyright exception for data and text mining for non-commercial research.

Council of Ministers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what meetings of the EU Council of Ministers has the Minister of State for Universities and Science attended since May 2011.

David Willetts: I attended formal Competitiveness Councils on 30-31 May and 6 December 2011 and an informal Council on 20-21 July 2011.

Counterfeit Manufacturing: Trade Agreements

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the potential effects of implementing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement in (a) the UK and (b) the EU.

Norman Lamb: The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) has been reviewed by Government lawyers and the European Commission Legal Services who confirm that ACTA will not create new intellectual property rights, laws or criminal offences in the UK or EU.
	Implementing ACTA will provide EU and UK industry and creators with better protection in overseas markets, through the creation of common enforcement standards and practices and more effective international cooperation.

Departmental Food

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of food purchased by his Department was produced in the UK in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: The Department's catering and conference services are contracted to BaxterStorey who source the food used.
	During the last five years the percentages of indigenous food and of all food purchased were as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage of indigenous food Percentage of all food 
			 2007 88 80 
			 2008 87 80 
			 2009 90 85 
			 2010 91 85 
			 2011 92 85

Departmental Travel

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 16 January 2012, Official Report, column 31WS, on cost of ministerial cars, whether his Department has any other arrangements for ministerial travel; and how much his Department has spent on (a) private hire vehicles and (b) taxis for each Minister since May 2010.

Norman Lamb: As set out in the Ministerial Code, Ministers must ensure that they always make efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements. To meet this requirement the Department has supplemented its use of ministerial cars provided by the Government Cars Service (GCS) with vehicles supplied by a private sector company since 1 December 2010. The cost of providing cars for ministerial cars and taxis are as follows with earlier data provided as a comparison:
	
		
			 £ 
			  Hire vehicles (incl GCS) Taxis (UK and overseas) 
			 2009/10 744,417 19,066 
			 2010/11 309,311 10,668 
			 2011/12 (April to December 2011) 61,458 7,928

Foreign Trade: India

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he supports the inclusion of data exclusivity in the text of the EU-India Free Trade agreement; and what conversations he has had with colleagues within the European Commission on the potential effect of this clause on India's ability to produce generic HIV medicines for patients in the developing world.

Norman Lamb: The Free Trade Agreement with India in its current form will not change Indian data exclusivity arrangements. The EU Trade Commissioner has made it clear that nothing in the agreement should prevent the poorest from accessing life-saving medicines. The UK supports this position.

Higher Education: North East

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many UCAS applications were submitted by residents of (a) Stockton North constituency, (b) the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, (c) Tees Valley and (d) the north east in the (i) 2010-11 admissions cycle by 15 January 2011 and (ii) 2011-12 admissions cycle by 15 January 2012.

David Willetts: holding answer 6 February 2012
	The information, provided by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), and showing all the constituencies in the Tees Valley, is shown in the table.
	
		
			 All applicants to UCAS by the main 15 January deadline, by parliamentary constituency/region (1) 
			  Application cycle 
			 Constituency 2010-11 (2) 2011-12 (3) 
			 Darlington 665 614 
			 Hartlepool 796 665 
			 Middlesbrough 652 660 
			 Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland 700 646 
			 Redcar 659 584 
			 Stockton North 662 568 
			 Stockton South 920 814 
			 The Tees Valley 5,054 4,551 
			 The North East 19,026 16,887 
			 (1 )Parliamentary constituency has been identified using the home postcode of the applicant, irrespective of their declared area of permanent residence. (2 )Applicants applying to enter courses starting in autumn 2011, including those who applied for deferred entry in 2012. (3 )Applicants applying to enter courses starting in autumn 2012, including those who applied for deferred entry in 2013.

Higher Education: Research

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to promote the transfer of innovative university research to the commercial sector.

David Willetts: holding answer 6 February 2012
	The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) supports a range of programmes to encourage and incentivise the application and commercialisation of research generated by the UK research base. These programmes are supported both directly by BIS, and also through organisations that it funds and sponsors, such as the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Research Councils and the Technology Strategy Board.
	The Government are committed to accelerating the commercialisation of research, following announcements in the autumn statement, and the subsequent publication of the “Innovation and Research Strategy for Growth” and the “Strategy for UK Life Sciences”.

Post Offices: Closures

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many sub-post offices closed in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) Wales in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2011.

Norman Lamb: The information requested is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the managing director of the Post Office Ltd, to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Royal Mail

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with the (i) chief executive and (ii) Chairman of Royal Mail in the last two years; and what the reason was for each such meeting.

Norman Lamb: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Ministers have had a number of meetings with the chief executive and Chair of Royal Mail in the last two years covering a broad range of issues regarding the performance of the company and its future strategy.

Royal Mail

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what expenses were claimed by the (a) chief executive and (b) Chairman of Royal Mail in the last two years.

Norman Lamb: The chief executive officer (CEO) and Chair are eligible to claim reasonable expenses in relation to their employment in line with normal business practice.
	Details of their remuneration are published in the company's annual report.

Shares: Fraud

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the use of shareholders' details obtained from companies under sections 116 to 120 of the Companies Act 2006 by people engaged in boiler room fraud.

Norman Lamb: The right to inspect and require copies of the register and the index of members' names was reviewed as part of the Companies Law Review which shaped the Companies Act 2006. The current provisions follow extensive debates in Parliament and reflected the need for information about the members of a company to be readily available for inspection.
	For the first time the law provides a clear legal basis for companies not to provide the information if the information is thought not to be for proper purpose.

Students: Loans

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect of further education student loans on the number of individuals who will study health, social care and nursing courses as the result of an access course.

John Hayes: The consultation stage impact assessment ‘Further Education (FE)—Level 3+ Loans’ estimated the impact of introducing Further education loans on overall learner numbers. The consultation stage asssessment can be accessed at the link as follows:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/further-education-skills/docs/f/11-1218-further-education-loans-impact-assessment
	A final stage impact assessment, containing updated estimates of learner numbers, will be published by May 2012. The final stage assessment will be informed by research and analysis commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). This will include the results of an Online Learner Panel Survey carried out by opinion panel, as well as market research company, Taylor Nelson Sofres—British Market Research Bureau (TNS-BMRB) work with potential FE students, to understand how FE loans might affect their decision to study, and further research as required.

Students: Loans

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the funding allocated for further education student loans will limit the number of students aged 24 or above who wish to study a level three or above qualification that can be recruited by further education providers.

John Hayes: The ‘New Challenges, New Chances’ skills investment strategy published by BIS on 1 December 2011 confirmed that the budget for further education loans would be £129 million in 2013-14 and £398 million in 2014-15. The number of students this budget supports will depend on the level of demand and the courses that students choose. The consultation stage impact assessment ‘Further Education—Level 3+ Loans’ published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on 16 August 2011 assumed that around 186,000 learners would be supported to begin such courses in the 2013-14 financial year, and around 171,000 in 2014-15. In the case of 2013-14, this includes both starts supported through loans from the start of the academic year (when the policy is introduced), and grant-funded starts prior to that. There are no constraints on FE colleges and training organisations recruiting additional adult learners who can self-finance their courses.

Students: Loans

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the total amount of further education (FE) loans and interest on those loans a FE student will repay if they take out the maximum available FE student loan in 2013-14 and earn (a) £21,000, (b) £25,000, (c) £30,000 and (d) £35,000 per year until the loan is repaid.

John Hayes: There is no specified maximum amount of FE loan. Rather, learners will be able to take out a loan up to the value of the fully funded rate paid to their learning provider for the course they choose. In 2012/13, the course with the highest fully funded rate is expected to be around £10,000 (Engineering Apprenticeship), so we have assumed this is the amount borrowed. We have assumed that the learner starts the course in 2013/14, the course will last two years, and he or she will begin repayment in 2018 (to make the results comparable with question 94234 tabled by the hon. Member where repayment starts in 2018).
	We have assumed that the requested income scenarios are given in 2016 terms; that the incomes increase with general earnings growth beyond that year; and that the learner remains in full-time employment for the whole of the 30 year period. On that basis, the total amounts borrowed, the total repayments over the repayment period of 30 years, and the total gross earnings for that period would be as shown in the following table:
	
		
			 £ 
			 Initial earnings Amount borrowed Total amount repaid over 30 years (nominal) Total income over 30 years (nominal) 
			 £21,000 10,000 0 1,441,600 
			 £25,000 10,000 20,500 1,716,200 
			 £30,000 10,000 15,700 2,059,500 
			 £35,000 10,000 14,600 2,402,700

Students: Loans

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the total combined loan (a) value and (b) repayment plus interest will be for an access to higher education student who takes out the maximum further education student loan and the maximum higher education student loan and subsequently earns (i) £21,000, (ii) £25,000, (iii) £30,000 and (iv) £35,000 per year until the loan is repaid from 2013-14; and if he will publish any modelling his Department has commissioned on these costs.

John Hayes: The expected maximum loan for an Access to a Higher Education (HE) course is £4,000, and the course is expected to last for one year. We have assumed that the learner starts the Access to HE course in 2013/14. If the same person subsequently enrols on a three year HE course starting in 2014/15, the maximum amounts borrowed for the three years to pay for student fees could be around: £9,600, £9,900 and £10,300 and for London rate maintenance loans could be around: £8,200, £8,500 and £8,800. These amounts assume all 2012/13 fee and loan rates increase with inflation each year and that the student does not receive any fee waivers. This gives a total loan value of £59,300.
	We have assumed that: the requested income scenarios are given in 2016 terms; that the incomes increase with general earnings growth beyond that year; and that the learner remains in full-time employment for the whole of the 30 year period. Then the total amounts borrowed, the total repayments over the repayment period of 30 years, and the total gross earnings for that period would be as shown in the following table:
	
		
			 £ 
			 Initial earnings Amount borrowed Amount repaid after 30 years Total income received in those 30 years (nominal) 
			 £21,000 59,300 0 1,441,600 
			 £25,000 59,300 24,700 1,716,200 
			 £30,000 59,300 55,600 2,059,500 
			 £35,000 59,300 86,500 2,402,700 
		
	
	The Government have published a calculator for students to work out their repayments which is accessible at the following link:
	http://www.studentfinance.direct.gov.uk/portal/page?_pageid=153,4680136&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

Students: Loans

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what modelling his Department has prepared on the financial implications of introducing further education student loans; and if he will publish the results of that modelling.

John Hayes: The Department's modelling of the impact of loans in further education is outlined in the consultation stage impact assessment “Further Education—Level 3+ Loans”. This was published in July 2011, and can be accessed at the following link:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/further-education-skills/docs/f/11-1218-further-education-loans-impact-assessment
	A final stage impact assessment, containing updated modelling, will be published by May 2012.

Supermarkets: Competition

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether legislation will be introduced in the next Session of Parliament to establish a groceries code adjudicator.

Norman Lamb: The Government are fully committed to introducing the Groceries Code Adjudicator as soon as parliamentary time allows.
	As the Leader of the House said on 15 December 2011, Official Report, column 937, the Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill is a strong candidate for consideration as part of the second Session of Parliament.

Work Experience

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he has taken to reduce the number of unpaid internships.

David Willetts: We want to make as many opportunities as possible available to talented young people from all backgrounds. It is important we do not close down potentially valuable options, for example where the intern is acting as a volunteer. For this reason we do not rule out unpaid internships but ask businesses to offer internships openly and transparently and provide financial support to ensure fair access.
	We have recently updated guidance on Business Link and Directgov to provide more clarity on internships and to remind employers of their legal responsibilities, including that those who are entitled to the national minimum wage (NMW) should receive it.
	The Graduate Talent Pool website, funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, also directs employers to this guidance and along with the vacancy quality assurance process, ensures that no employer is left in any doubt about his or her obligation to comply with national minimum wage legislation.